Skip to main content
Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
Male Axe-God Half-Celt
Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
© Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami. All rights reserved.

Male Axe-God Half-Celt

Artist/Maker (Artist Unknown)
Dateca. 300-900
Mediumjade
DimensionsOverall: 8 3/4 x 2 1/4 x 3/8 in. (22.2 x 5.7 x 1 cm)
ClassificationsTools and Equipment
Credit LineGift of The Rubin - Ladd Foundation
Terms
    Object number2007.4.15
    DescriptionThis half-celt has been sliced off of the original, in keeping with other anthropomorphic jade objects from Costa Rica. It was carved during the peak of Costa Rican jade-carving popularity and is in the form of a male axe-god deity. The upper part of the celt is a human or deity body with upraised arms, an open mouth, and an extended tongue. The deity wears a large head-dress and the head itself is set off from the rest of the celt by side notches. Many shamanic images in Costa Rican art include hands resting on the belly, which may be a reference to fertility. Jade’s color and reflective properties provided a symbolic representation of water, a basic resource controlled by each chiefdom. The celt – thought to originate as a tool for woodworking or agriculture but here elevated to a luxury status indicator – provides additional symbolism of the importance of man’s cooperation with the natural world.
    On View
    Not on view
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Artist Unknown
    ca. 300-800
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Greater Nicoya
    ca. 300-800
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Artist Unknown
    ca. 600-900
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Artist Unknown
    ca. 600-900
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Artist Unknown
    ca. 600-900
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Olmec
    ca. 1500-400 BCE
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Greater Nicoya
    ca. 1000-1350
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Greater Nicoya
    ca. 1-500
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Maya (archaeological culture)
    ca. 600-900
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Taino
    ca. 900-1500
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Greater Nicoya
    1-500
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Diquis
    ca. 500-1000