Maskette

between 900 and 600 BCE

Olmec, Precolumbian

On View

Native American, Level 1, South Wing

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About the Artwork

This powerful maskette would have been worn by an Olmec god-king as a pendant during life and buried with him at death. In this culture jadite was valued above gold as a material, for its rich blue green color symbolized all-important, life-sustaining water. The snarling mouth and babylike features are associated with a rain-giving water deity. It is rare to find a piece of gem-quality jadite this large, so the maskette would have been a highly prestigious, potent ornament suitable for a king.

Title Maskette

Artwork Date between 900 and 600 BCE

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. Precolumbian

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Olmec

Medium Jade

Dimensions Overall: 4 3/4 × 3 5/8 × 2 1/2 inches (12.1 × 9.2 × 6.4 cm)

Classification Sculpture

Department Indigenous Americas

Credit Founders Society Purchase, W. Hawkins Ferry Fund

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 1985.42

Markings

Inscriptions ------

Provenance

Peter Wray. 1985-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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