PECTORAL EN COQUILLAGECULTURE MAYACLASSIQUE RÉCENT, 550-950 AP. J.-C. |

Collection privée, États-Unis, acquis ca. 1960
Christie's, New York, 21 novembre 2006, n° 179
Importante Collection privée française

Good condition overall. Two holes for suspension and few other aging holes, wear consistent with age and use within the culture. Very good preservation of the red pigments.
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Les objets faits à partir de coquillages étaient très prisés des cultures mésoaméricaines ancestrales. Ils sont généralement classés dans une vaste catégorie d'artefacts décrits comme des adornos (ou ornements) qui paraient les costumes sophistiqués de la noblesse maya. Les coquillages adornos sont en effet souvent représentés sur des statues et des céramiques peintes de Jaina pour signifier le statut social de l'individu. Le pectoral était vraisemblablement porté par les hauts dignitaires mayas suspendu au cou, le visage gravé tourné contre la poitrine afin de maximiser ses pouvoirs apotropaïques. Celui-ci est orné d'une tête et d’une coiffe minutieusement gravées, portraiturant un défunt ancêtre maya. Le visage, vu de profil, se distingue par ses traits soigneusement détaillés, par l’élément floral qui émane du nez et figure le "souffle parfumé", par d’imposants bijoux en jade et une coiffe complexe mêlant plumes et têtes zoomorphes.

Un nom en glyphes est inscrit dans la coiffure surplombant le profil, certainement celui de l'ancêtre. Un autre apparaît également sous le visage, dans le creux du bras. Les « têtes flottantes » d'ancêtres constituaient un motif récurrent dans l'art maya. James Doyle écrit à propos d'un pectoral similaire : « … les ancêtres flottants étaient fréquents dans les monuments mayas, sur les céramiques et d'autres objets sculptés… la fumée émanant des deux côtés de l'image exprime la croyance maya selon laquelle le pouvoir ancestral se trouvait dans la brume ; le coquillage lui-même incarne la présence ancestrale émergeant de la mer orientale. » (Doyle in Finamore et Houston, Fiery Pool: The Maya and The Mythic Sea, 2010, p. 130).

Voir Finamore et Houston idem. pp. 130-131, n° 45, pour l’illustration du pectoral cité supra et idem. p. 128-129, n° 44, pour un autre, portraiturant un seigneur assis.

Objects made from shell were greatly prized by ancient Mesoamerican cultures. Quite frequently, shell objects fall into a large class of objects described as adornos (or ornaments), that were placed on the intricate costumes of Maya nobility. Indeed, shell adornos are often depicted on Jaina figures and in painted ceramic, as a means to signify the social status of the individual. The pectoral would have been worn around the neck of a high-ranking member of Maya society, with the head faced towards to chest so as to maximize its apotropaic powers.

The current example presents an elaborately carved head and headdress of a Maya ancestor, meant to be a portrait of the deceased. Here the profile view of the head features carefully rendered facial features, a floral element emanating from his nose referring to 'fragrant breath,' massive jade jewelry, and an intricate headdress of plumes and zoomorphic heads.

A name glyph appears in the headdress of the down-peering profile, likely naming the ancestor. Another glyph also appears below the profile head in the crook of the arm. Floating ancestor heads were a common motif in Maya art. Of a similar shell pectoral, James Doyle writes that “…floating ancestors were common on Maya monuments, ceramics and other carved items…the smoke issuing from both ends of the image expresses the Maya notion that ancestral power could be found in mist; the shell itself embodies the ancestral presence rising from the eastern sea.” (Doyle in, Finamore and Houston, Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea, 2010, p. 130).

For the aforementioned pectoral in Finamore and Houston, ibid. pp. 130-131, no. 45. For another example with a seated lord, see ibid. pp. 128-129, no. 44.