Looking for info on this Jade Freize

[Curious12]

I was recently given this item by my 94 year old grandmother who then passed away. It was "given" to her by Dr. from El Salvador many years ago as a gift and or collateral for a loan. Any information would be wonderful including any potential value. It weighs 20-30 lbs, and measures about 17" x 11" x 1.5". Edit: I found it is a Yum Kax- the Mayan God of Corn, aka Guardian of the Forest. I would love to find out more. This stone is very green, although the pictures don't show it well.

 

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[Curious12]

Here is a better picture hopefully. The piece is very green, which is not showing up well. Hopefully this one will be right side up.

 

[Molewacker]

The second group of photos show the green well - can't help, but thanks for sharing!

 

[joshuaream]

The largest known Mayan jade artifact is the Kinich Ahau head, weighing less than 10 pounds.

I think you have a very nice, probably very valuable modern jade/greenstone copy of a segment of a stelae or limestone carving. That said, if it's authentic it's probably worth more than a small house. I'd reach out to one of the big galleries and see what they say.

 

[Curious12]

Thanks Joshua. Do you know of any place I could take it in greater Philadelphia area? I haven't found anyone who is an expert in this type of thing.

 

[bone2stone]

Thanks Joshua. Do you know of any place I could take it in greater Philadelphia area? I haven't found anyone who is an expert in this type of thing.

Joshuaream is one who usually knows his stuff.
He may be correct but to be certain you may want to get in touch with the Perot museum in Dallas Texas.
They have one of the most esteemed curators on the Mayan culture on staff now.
The museum has some outstanding items on display (authentic and replicated) of this segment in American history.
If given the opportunity it is worth the effort to view it as it is the finest, Smithsonian withstanding, display of this culture.

Bone2stone

 

[Clay Diggins]

It doesn't appear to be jade from central America. It looks like Serpentine, which closely simulates jade in appearance. Serpentine is much softer than jade. You can check it by trying to scratch an small area on the back with a pocket knife. If the rock scratches it's not jade.

Serpentine is cheap and abundant compared to jade. Although Serpentine is used to make a lot of souvenirs and fake jades this piece may have been made in pre Colombian times.