Catalogue Description:
Mosaic pendant in the form of a human head wearing a headdress of an unidentified animal. The piece is fabricated over a wooden core which is hollow in the back. In the front, a resinous layer is inlaid with a mosaic of jade, spondylus shell, mother of pearl and obsidian. On areas not covered by mosaic decoration, the resin is thick and pigmented red-brown. Since jade portrait masks of rulers are usually mosaic, perhaps this pendant is a portrait of a Maya ruler. The right side of the mask has been restored. There is a perforation in the right ear for an earring which is now missing. Holes are pierced through the sides of the mask on the reverse so it may be strung on a necklace.
