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Source Description
This sensual head fragment may come from a seated or standing figure like those shown nearby, though much larger. The carving is exceptionally fine, from the slight under-eye puffiness to the delineation of the fleshy lips and the teeth. The profile face of supernatural being is incised just in front of each ear, perhaps indicating that the subject had special power.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
136813
label
Head Fragment
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
136813
contentType
object
title
Head Fragment
description
This sensual head fragment may come from a seated or standing figure like those shown nearby, though much larger. The carving is exceptionally fine, from the slight under-eye puffiness to the delineation of the fleshy lips and the teeth. The profile face of supernatural being is incised just in front of each ear, perhaps indicating that the subject had special power.
date
c. 900–300 BCE
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60759174
genreSpecific
Jade
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 7.4 x 6.2 x 5 cm (2 15/16 x 2 7/16 x 1 15/16 in.)
cul
Mesoamerica, Mexico, Olmec
accession
1961.31
Source extras
tec
jadeite
tombstone
Head Fragment, c. 900–300 BCE. Mesoamerica, Mexico, Olmec. Jadeite; overall: 7.4 x 6.2 x 5 cm (2 15/16 x 2 7/16 x 1 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1961.31
collection
AA - Mesoamerica
relatedWorks
id
137109
description
Drawing of Olmec Jade Head, 1930–57. Miguel Covarrubias (Mexican, 1904–1957). Pen and ink over graphite; image: 7.2 x 4.2 cm (2 13/16 x 1 5/8 in.); sheet: 9.9 x 10.7 cm (3 7/8 x 4 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of John Wise, 1961.77
id
137110
description
Drawing of Olmec Jade Head, mid-1900s. Miguel Covarrubias (Mexican, 1904–1957). Pen and ink over graphite; image: 14.8 x 6.5 cm (5 13/16 x 2 9/16 in.); sheet: 16.9 x 8.4 cm (6 5/8 x 3 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of John Wise, 1961.78
didYouKnow
In ancient Mesoamerica, jade was more valuable than gold.
citations
citation
Society of the Four Arts (Palm Beach, Fla.), and Gordon F. Ekholm. Pre-Columbian Art, the Native Art of America Before the Conquest: Jan. 10-Feb. 1, 1953. Palm Beach: Society of the Four Arts, 1952.
page_number
Cat. No. 9
citation
Hawley, Henry H. "An Olmec Jade Head." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 48, no. 8 (1961).
page_number
pp. 212-215
citation
Lee, Sherman E. "Year in Review 1961." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 48, no. 9 (1961).
page_number
p. 238, no. 16
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 290
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 290
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 393
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 6
citation
Benson, Elizabeth P., Beatriz de la Fuente, and Marcia Castro-Leal Espino. <em>Olmec Art of Ancient Mexico</em>. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1996.
page_number
p. 221, Cat. No. 59
citation
Bergh, Susan E. "'The Art of Those Who Lived Here Before the White Man Came': Collecting the Ancient Americas at the Cleveland Museum of Art." In <em>Collecting the “Other Americas”: Ancient Americas Collections in American Art Museums, </em>edited by Victoria I. Lyall, and Ellen Hoobler, 67- 82. Denver, Colorado: Mayer Center for Ancient and Latin American Art at the Denver Art Museum, 2025.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 75-76, fig. 14
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
sketchfabId
dfdf78ec92d84112837590f1c1da7eb4
updatedAt
2026-06-18 21:17:56.280000
sourceId
136813
dept
Art of the Americas
coll
AA - Mesoamerica
med
jadeite
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
2ea57ea53ea54c02