Human Head Pendant

Description The inhabitants of the New World considered green stone varieties (eg. jadeite) to be an extremely valuable material. The bright green color was associated with life, which covers the earth in the form of green vegetation. An amulet such as this one would probably have been worn by a member of the royal family or by someone of the upper class.

Provenance Tiffany & Co., New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1910, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1910, from Tiffany & Co.