Crescent-Shaped Ornaments

800–1100 CE
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Gold crescents often appear as decorations on warriors’ shields in Mesoamerican art, which may reflect the function of the examples here. Like other Mesoamerican civilizations, the Maya associated the crescent with the moon, female deities, and fertility.



Estas cinco lentejuelas tienen forma de puntas de flecha. Las lanzas de piedra o puntas de dardos eran las armas supremas de los cazadores y de los guerreros en la antigua Mesoamérica, y sus imitaciones de oro sugieren que estos adornos simbolizaban la habilidad en estas disciplinas.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Crescent-Shaped Ornaments
  • Date: 800–1100 CE
  • Geography: Mexico, Yucatan
  • Culture: Maya
  • Medium: Gold
  • Dimensions: H. 1 7/16 × W. 1 7/16 × D. 1/16 in. (3.7 × 3.7 × 0.1 cm)
  • Classifications: Metalwork-Ornaments, Gold
  • Credit Line: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Peabody Museum Expedition, 1907–1910 (10-71-20/C7686A–E)
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing