The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

Celt with Deity

Celt with Deity

1000–300 BCE
stone
Overall: 32.2 x 14 x 11.5 cm (12 11/16 x 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 in.)
Gift of the Hanna Fund 1954.856
Location: 233 Mesoamerican and Intermediate Region

Description

This ceremonial object has the head of a deity and a body shaped like an axe blade (celt) used to clear land for agriculture. The flared mouth, toothless gums, and fangs are typical of Olmec supernatural beings. The meaning of the body's "four-dots-and-a-bar" motif is unclear, but it sometimes appears in depictions of plants. The deity, then, seems to be associated with fertility.
  • Milliken, William M. "Two Pre-Columbian Sculptures." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 42, no. 4 (April 1955): 58-61. Reproduced: P. 58; mentioned: P. 59-60 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 290 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 290 archive.org
    Joralemon, Peter David. A Study of Olmec Iconography. Washington: Dumbarton Oaks, 1971. Mentioned: P. 78, no. 228
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 392 archive.org
    Kubler, George. The Art and Architecture of Ancient America: The Mexican, Maya, and Andean Peoples. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1984. Reproduced: P. 64, fig. 28a
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 6 archive.org
  • In Memoriam: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 4-April 7, 1958).
    Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; March 4-April 6, 1958. "In Memoriam: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr." cat. no. 171.
  • {{cite web|title=Celt with Deity|url=false|author=|year=1000–300 BCE|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1954.856