PERFORATOR IN THE FORM OF A HUMMING BIRD Olmec... Lot 18

PERFORATOR IN THE FORM OF A HUMMING BIRD Olmec culture, Mexico Middle Preclassic, 900-400 B.C.C. Green jade with shiny surface H. 2,5 cm - L. 7,8 cm Olmec perforator in the form of a hummingbird, green jade with shiny patina, Mexico H. 1 in - L. 3 in Provenance: Private American collection, acquired 1989 Merrin Gallery, New York Joyce Strauss, Denver, active mid-1960s to 1980s The punch-shaped tip depicts the bird's very slender beak, while its body is cube-shaped with rounded corners and decorated on the back with an engraved cruciform pattern. A lateral perforation forms the eyes and allows the object to be suspended. Like other Mesoamerican peoples, the Olmecs practised ritual self-sacrifice by extracting their own blood. They used shark's teeth, ray's stings or obsidian blades as perforators, but the most beautiful examples were carved in jade like this one. It certainly belonged to a sovereign or to a high ranking person. (See a very similar model in Coe, 1965: 26 fig. 18) CP