Jade was a prized material for the Olmec, and their carving has been found throughout Mesoamerica and beyond.
Olmec
Dress for the job you want, not the one you have: could this mask pendant turn its wearer into a god?
Olmec stone mask
Olmec figurines are known for their baby faces, as well as a mixture of feline and human traits.
Olmec figurine
These seventeen baby-faced figures may have represented a priestly ritual, a sacrifice, or a procession.
Offering #4, La Venta
This face has a naturalistic quality to its skin, but its mouth gives us pause—what does it mean?
Olmec mask at The Metropolitan Museum of ...
This was buried in an offering at an Aztec temple, some 1500 years later and far from where it was made.
Olmec mask
In spite its name, this jade figure was a ritual object and never used as an axe.