Face
From the middle of the 11th century BCE to the Spanish Conquest in the 16th century, green and blue colored stones (broadly called greenstone, or “chalchihuitl” in Nahuatl) were esteemed across Mesoamerica for their exceptional luster and translucency. Greenstone, moreover, was thought to be water-retentive, capable of emitting vapor that bolstered the growth and sustenance of surrounding vegetation. The color of the stones was further tied to that of water and maize sprouts, closely linking greenstone to notions of fertility, abundance, and life-giving properties.
The Olmec especially valued the bluish color of this jadeite mask. Jadeite, a rare variety of greenstone, occurs naturally in very few places around the world. The material for this mask likely originated from the Motagua River valley in present-day Guatemala, the only known source of jadeite in ancient Mesoamerica. The eroded corner on the mask’s proper right suggests that it was previously exposed to water, perhaps as a river cobble. Some of the earliest jadeite obtained from the region may have been stream-tumbled cobbles or boulders, rather than quarried stone.
So special was the jadeite from which this mask was made that the artists seemed to have removed as little of it as possible from the reverse side. The shallowness of the circular, concave depression on the back of the mask may also be due to the toughness of the stone. Jadeite is an extremely dense rock with a relative hardness value equivalent to or even greater than that of steel. Artists in Mesoamerica generally used a combination of percussion and cutting—using lithic implements such as flint blades—to approximate the size of the jadeite, after which they grinded the surface of the stone with other coarse rocks for many hours to achieve the desired shape.
Despite the concave depression, this mask was not made to be worn on the face, at least not by the living. Unlike the earlobes, which feature small holes, neither the eyes nor the mouth have been perforated for sight or breath. Holes along the edges of the mask, however, hint at its ritual usage. Masks appear in depictions of rulers or performers and are represented as belt ornaments, pectorals, or headdress components. The perforations additionally suggest that the mask may have been affixed to a textile, as part of a funerary bundle.
Ji Mary Seo, Lifchez-Stronach Curatorial Intern, 2018
References and Further Reading
"Face." In 82nd and Fifth. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013, https://82nd-and-fifth.metmuseum.org/face.
Furst, Peter. “The Olmec Were-Jaguar Motif in the Light of Ethnographic Reality.” In Dumbarton Oaks Conference on the Olmec: October 28th and 29th, 1967, edited by Elizabeth P. Benson, 143-174. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1968.
Griffin, Gillett G. “Formative Guerrero and Its Jade.” In Precolumbian Jade: New Geological and Cultural Interpretations, edited by Frederick W. Lange, 203-210. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1993.
Filloy Nadal, Laura. “Forests of Jade: Luxury Arts and Symbols of Excellence in Ancient Mesoamerica.” In Golden Kingdoms: Luxury Arts in the Ancient Americas, edited by Joanne Pillsbury, Timothy Potts, Kim N. Richter, 67-77. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum and The Getty Research Institute, 2017.
Pillsbury, Joanne, Timothy Potts, and Kim N. Richter, eds. Golden Kingdoms: Luxury Arts in the Ancient Americas. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum and The Getty Research Institute, 2017. Cat. no. 124, p. 209.
Seitz, Russell MacGregor, George E. Harlow, Virginia Sisson, and Karl Taube. “‘Olmec Blue’ and Formative Jade Sources: New Discoveries in Guatemala.” Antiquity 75 (2001): 687-688. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00089171.
Taube, Karl A. “The Olmec Maize God: The Face of Corn in Formative Mesoamerica.” RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics, no. 29/30 (1996): 39-81. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20166943.
Taube, Karl A. “Introduction: The Origin and Development of Olmec Research.” In Olmec Art at Dumbarton Oaks, edited by Karl A. Taube, 1-47. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 2004.
Artwork Details
- Title: Face
- Artist: Olmec artist(s)
- Date: 900–400 BCE
- Geography: Mexico, Mesoamerica
- Culture: Olmec
- Medium: Jadeite
- Dimensions: H. 5 3/4 × W. 5 1/2 × D. 3 in. (14.6 × 14 × 7.6 cm)
- Classifications: Stone-Sculpture, Jade
- Credit Line: Bequest of Alice K. Bache, 1977
- Object Number: 1977.187.33
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing
Audio

1602. Rostro, artista(s) olmeca(s)
Laura Filloy Nadal
LAURA FILLOY NADAL: Este espléndido objeto fue elaborado en un momento muy temprano de la civilización mesoamericana.
Fue hecho con una piedra muy dura de color verde, y la superficie está tan pulida que parece que tu imagen se refleja en este rostro del pasado.
Soy Laura Filloy Nadal, curadora para el arte de las antiguas Américas en el Metropolitan Museum of Art.
JOSÉ MARÍA YAZPIK (NARRADOR): Hace más de 3000 años, un artista de la cultura olmeca talló esta exquisita máscara de jade. La superficie cuidadosamente pulida ilustra el innovador estilo olmeca que, durante milenios, influyó toda Mesoamérica. Las culturas posteriores, como la maya y la mexica, recogieron y veneraron objetos como este.
LAURA FILLOY NADAL: La dureza del jade es muy parecida a la del acero, esto hacía que la roca fuera difícil de trabajar y exigiera muchas horas de esfuerzo, de desgaste y de pulido, para finalmente lograr la forma y el brillo deseados.
Este rostro es muy pesado y no tiene orificios que permitan respirar o ver. Pero podemos observar unas perforaciones laterales que podrían haber servido para sujetarla y colocarla en posición vertical.
Estos rostros tallados no fueron hechos para usarse como máscaras por una persona viva, sino que podrían haber sido colocados sobre bultos o esculturas perecederas representando humanos, ancestros o deidades... para dotarlos de rasgos faciales que duraran para siempre.
El jade estaba relacionado con el aliento vital o el alma, por esta razón era un componente importante de los ritos funerarios de los olmecas.
JOSÉ MARÍA YAZPIK: Además, el jade también representaba muchos otros aspectos de la vida.
LAURA FILLOY NADAL: Las piedras verdes tenían significados muy profundos. Se les relacionaba con la humedad, con el maíz, con la abundancia, con el lujo. Las piedras verdes no solo se elegían para confeccionar artículos especiales y objetos sagrados, sino también ornamentos que se colocaban sobre el cuerpo. Se creía que estas piedras verdes tenían la capacidad de absorber y emitir humedad, por lo tanto, eran como contenedores de agua, contenedores de humedad.
JOSÉ MARÍA YAZPIK: Para pueblos cuyas vidasestaban entrelazadas con la naturaleza, con la agricultura y las lluvias estacionales, esta máscara debió haber sido un objeto sumamente poderoso.
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