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Head Fragment
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
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.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineHead 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
