Pre Columbian Aztec/Mayan Necklace

[NewFinder]

Hello and thank you for viewing! I was wondering if someone could put a price of this pre Columbian necklace. My grandfather dug it up himself, along with many other items, and passed this down to me. I'm attending college and could use some money. So anything would help. The necklace is made of green rock, not sure exactly what. The tooth shaped stone is very smooth and appears to have been attatched to the necklace originally. Feel free to give some input, thank you.View attachment 1449832View attachment 1449833View attachment 1449834

 

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[Mackaydon]

Welcome to Treasure Net !!

It appears to be part of a turquoise bead necklace. Without a pedigree as to its Aztec attribution, they are relative common; like this:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/253294...silver bead necklace mexico&ref=sr_gallery_39
Don......

 

[Clay Diggins]

There are some similarities to the turquoise necklace you show Don but I know this material and the style/era. This is indeed a Mayan piece. The stone is "blue" jade from Guatemala and the drilling and stonework are done by hand.

This is a particularly nice example of pre columbian Mayan jewelry beads. I'm not sure of the current market value but it will be considerably more than the etsy piece. If you could provide some provenance and can wait a year or so it could bring respectable money at a quality auction. Probably not going to pay tuition or anything like that but it could cover the social entertainment budget for a semester. I would suggest Bonhams for a potential auction house for this sort of item. If you don't have provenance you would be better off to try selling on eBay in the Antiquities category. A single piece like this without provenance would probably not be of interest to a quality auction house and won't bring a lot of money.

The tooth shaped piece may be a tooth or bone. In either case unless it is a verified part of the original piece you might be better off keeping it separate. It's quite likely to be human remains considering the source. You might check your grandfather's notes if he made any. Beads of this quality were often strung with very small, thin styled gold beads or dangles. If those were present and could be included in the set the value would be considerably higher.

 

[NewFinder]

Thank you, that helped a lot!

 

[gunsil]

The necklace is pieced together, not likely originally all from the same necklace or bracelet, they are not turquoise, and the tooth object appears to be shell, not stone or bone. The string is new and no way it it original. Not necessarily from Guatemala either, I bought a bunch of them in Mexico, and mine were Olmec or Toltec from the region they were dug up in. I paid around a buck apiece years ago, thousands of these have been found, and are still being dug up.

 

[Clay Diggins]

To help you figure out the current values here are some links to recent auction prices for this style Mayan jade beads.

https://www.antiquesnavigator.com/d-2635190/50-mayan-jade-beads-precolumbian-nice-nr.html

https://www.antiquesnavigator.com/d-591528/pre-columbian-bead-mayan-manzana-jade-very-rare-tube.html

https://www.antiquesnavigator.com/d-470432/pre-columbian-mayan-tubular-translucent-jade-bead.html

https://www.antiquesnavigator.com/d...de-bead-ancient-mayan-stone-spotted-tube.html

https://www.antiquesnavigator.com/d...-stone-beads-from-the-leesman-collection.html

https://new.liveauctioneers.com/item/23106715

As you can see the pre colombian Guatemalan jade brings several hundred times the price of Mexican jades.

At a better auction house with a provenance you could expect auction prices around 3 - 10 times these prices.

Here are some museum quality pieces of Mayan jade.

Maya Jade Ornaments

Here's a link to a New York Times article explaining the source of this jade.

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/22/world/in-guatemala-a-rhode-island-size-jade-lode.html

 

[2screwed]

NewFinder, just my 2 cents worth but I would suggest that you avoid the popular online selling sites and contact a reputable auction house or someone who specializes in the sale of these and the other Precolumbian items you have posted here and your other threads. You haven't said where you are at so that might limit your choices.

 

[NewFinder]

Yeah, I'm new to all this, but thanks. I'm located in Los Angeles, Ca

 

[2screwed]

You are in a good place as far as auctions go, most of the top-tier houses have an office or representative in LA. This one will take a look at what you have and give you an auction estimate for free. That should give you some idea of the value of what you have.

https://www.ha.com/heritage-auctions-beverly-hills-office.s?type=googleplusbeverlyhills

A few more top houses:

Christie's Americas Salesrooms & Offices | Christie's
Los Angeles - Locations Worldwide | Sotheby's
Bonhams : Los Angeles

I would think that even if these aren't interested they should be able to point you in the right direction.

 

[bradyboy]

Suggest you look at your other post here and my post
Brady

 

[Robot]

Comparing Aztec to Mayan is like Comparing Russian to the USA!

Hello and thank you for viewing! I was wondering if someone could put a price of this pre Columbian necklace. My grandfather dug it up himself, along with many other items, and passed this down to me. I'm attending college and could use some money. So anything would help. The necklace is made of green rock, not sure exactly what. The tooth shaped stone is very smooth and appears to have been attatched to the necklace originally. Feel free to give some input, thank you.View attachment 1449832View attachment 1449833View attachment 1449834

View attachment 1449997View attachment 1449998View attachment 1449999

Yes both Valued Jade!

So does China and most of us today!

The Mayans did not have Jade but valued it as a trade commodity.

"What They Made
Ancient Mesoamericans everywhere -- from the Olmecs to the Aztecs -- valued jade, and the Mayans especially enjoyed the bright green variety. To the ancient Maya, jade represented things like maize (corn), the wind, breath and the soul. They made jade into belts, nose decorations, mosaic masks, tooth inserts, beads and ear spools (a kind of earring that looks like a spool). They also worked jade into celts -- a kind of axe-head. As for decoration, designs representing flowers were popular for jade jewelry.

How They Worked It
But, until 800 AD -- near the end of the Classic Period -- metalworking was not a part of Mesoamerican life, so what did the Maya do to make their jade ornaments? The answer: To change a piece of jade’s size, they cut it with a “saw” made from plant fiber cord, using stone grit and water for the saw's "teeth". When jade craftsman wanted to cut details into a piece of jade, he used a piece of bone or wood, using grit and water again. For a hole, he used the same detail-cutting tool as a drill, twisting the tip in the desired spot on both sides of the piece, also using grit and water. Once done carving, the craftsman polished the piece with something such as another stone, beeswax or with more plant fiber. All in all this was a time consuming process.

Where It Came From
And where did the ancient Maya get their jade? This was a question no one officially had the answer to until the 1954. Now people know that the ancient Mayans got jade from at least one source in what is now Guatemala: the Motagua Valley. Having rediscovered this source, a tourist trade based on jade has popped up, though it is centered around two areas, Teculután and Estancia de La Virgen."
What They Made
Like Jade Production in my province of British Columbia the commodity of Jade is most sot after today by the Country of China!

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