Necklace
200 BCE - 1500 CE
Unknown Artist (Mesoamerican)
Notes
The mixed shapes and colors of beads indicate a modern assemblage of adornments of unknown provenance. However, the stones’ characteristics suggest the beads came from West Mexico, although these types of beads are found throughout Central Mexico.
Notes: Modern restringing of ancient Mesoamerican beads and adornments is a common practice. Looters and dealers frequently pool these small finds until a wearable string can be produced and sold to a collector. In addition, it has been common in Mexico for ancient adornments to be repurposed into modern jewelry forms, a practice made famous by artist Frida Kahlo and silversmith William Spratling in the 1950s and 1960s, yet the practice can be traced to the 16th Century.