Context (Other owners)
In his bequest schedule, Prof. Richard Keynes describes this object as one of three stone age gods, which is of 'veined stone with incised features... Collected by Master of Arms W.E. Mussin RN in Costa Rica between 1905 and 1920.'
Event Date
Author: maa

Context (Auction / Sale)
Purchased by donor from Christie's South Kensingon, 11 October 1991, lot 285.
Event Date 11/10/1991
Author: Imogen Gunn

Description (Physical description)
Jadeite figure-celt pendant or Axe God, possibly an Olmecoid type. Thick, rounded body with celt-shaped lower end; shaped as if a celt had been cut in half longitudinally. Upper section is carved to suggest a stylised human figure wearing a hat or headdress, with raised features and thick lips. The hands meet over the chest. The pendant is perforated latitudinally level with the lips. The reverse is flat and slightly uneven, with a broken septum, left rough.
Event Date 18/2/2014
Author: maa

Context (Analysis)
On 20 March 2015, Professor Mary Miller, Yale University, examined this object. She believes it comes from the Atlantic Slope of Costa Rica and dates to 500-1,000 AD, both of which have now been added to the catalogue record.
Event Date 20/3/2015
Author: Imogen Gunn

Description (Physical description)
Stone figure-celt pendant with plano-convex cross-section. Round cutting edge remaining at the base, with the rest of the body and butt carved into a stylised human figure. The reverse is flat, with a raised ridge in the centre where the axe was broken in half. Details of facial features and the body are rendered by carved grooves, with the hands crossed over the chest and a head-dress. The pendant is perforated latitudinally at the mouth of the figure for suspension. Polished surfaces. Dark green stone with lighter green veins.
Event Date 1/7/2024
Author: Esther Laver