The most significant work of ancient American art in the Kimbell Art Museum’s collection will be on display December 15th in celebration of the tenth anniversary of the museum’s Renzo Piano Pavilion.
The ancient piece of art we’re talking about is none other than the Mesoamerican sculpture, “Standing Figure Holding a Were-Jaguar Baby” (c. 900–300 B.C.). This widely studied and written about statuette has been at the center of Olmec studies since it was acquired by Alastair B. Martin of New York City in 1947. Martin, who was the founder of the distinguished Guennol Collection, placed this ancient jadeite sculpture on long-term loan to the Brooklyn Museum of Art, where it remained until 2014.
Since then, this tiny eight-and-a-half-inch statuette was displayed at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Now, it will reside in Cowtown.
“Thanks to the foresight and generosity of collector Alastair Martin, this astonishingly beautiful masterpiece of Olmec jade carving has been on display for the public for more than seventy-five years, studied by scholars and appreciated by general museum visitors,” Eric Lee director of the Kimbell Art Museum says. “I am incredibly pleased to have the opportunity to continue that tradition. By acquiring one of the most important cultural touchstones of Olmec art for the Kimbell, we can assure that it will forever remain on view, available to all who want to appreciate its beauty and cultural significance.”
The significance Lee is referring to is one of ancient ceremonial importance. The sculpture itself depicts an unclothed Olmec ruler holding an infant were-jaguar, which was considered a supernatural creature, part human and part jaguar. The devils in the details or in this case the jadeite the statuette was carved out of. The baby in the sculpture wears a headband with two nodules and pleated ear ornaments at the sides, which is indicative of an Olmec Supernatural deity. The were-jaguar was thought to control the rain and the growth of maize, which was a dietary staple for the Mesoamerican people. More importantly, this sculpture was used as a validation of a ruler’s authority. Whomever had the were-jaguar in their possession was said to have supernatural powers displayed through ritual performances.
The term Olmec itself refers to an art style that came to light in the 1860s, after non-indigenous people first saw carved stone portrait heads located in a cornfield in Veracruz, Mexico.
Today, the Olmec civilization is recognized as Mesoamerica’s “mother culture” and earliest civilization, according to a release. Olmec art and culture had a direct and profound influence on later high cultures of Mesoamerica including Teotihuacan, the Maya, Zapotec, Veracruz, and the Aztecs.
Many of these sculptures were created to use during burials and sacred ceremonies. In fact, the statue’s broken left leg may have been broken on purpose during one of these very ceremonies. Although “Standing Figure Holding a Were-Jaguar Baby” is the only jade statue recovered from this ancient era, there are eleven Olmec sculptures that depict similar themes. However, no two are identical.
“Few Olmec objects have the history, aesthetic quality, and iconographic significance of this superb jade figure,” Jennifer Casler Price, the Kimbell’s senior curator of Asian, African, and ancient American art says. “I am absolutely thrilled that we are able to add this incredibly eloquent sculpture to the ancient American collection.”