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Shell with Jade Bead

600–800 CE

Not on view

These Spondylus shells, representing water and fertility, contain jade beads, which are symbolic of maize; they are covered in cinnabar from the volcanic highlands. These materials unite the realms of the Maya landscape: water, maize fields, and sacred mountains.

Estas conchas Spondylus, que representan el agua y la fertilidad, fueron halladas en un escondite con inscripciones dedicatorias y contienen cuentas de jade verde, símbolo del maíz. Están cubiertas de cinabrio extraído de las tierras volcánicas. Estos materiales reúnen a los tres componentes del mundo Maya: la preciada agua, las milpas de maíz cultivadas y las montañas sagradas. Las conchas Spondylus eran intercambiadas y utilizadas en ofrendas y entierros.

Shell with Jade Bead, Spondylus shell, cinnabar, jadeite, Maya — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Shell with Jade Bead

Date: 600–800 CE

Geography: Mexico, Chiapas

Culture: Maya

Medium: Spondylus shell, cinnabar, jadeite

Dimensions: Shell (a): W. 3 × D. 15/16 × L. 3 1/16 in. (7.6 × 2.4 × 7.8 cm)
Bead (b): D. 11/16 × Diam. 1 in. (1.7 × 2.6 cm)

Classification: Shell-Sculpture

Credit Line: Museo de Sitio de Toniná, Secretaría de Cultura-INAH, Ocosingo

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The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing at The Met

The Met's collection of art of the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and North, Central, and South America comprises more than eleven thousand works of art of varied materials and types, representing diverse cultural traditions from as early as 3000 B.C.E. to the present.