jade sculptures

Perpetuating the legacy of the ancient Maya, Ruben and Gilda Perez depicts a canoe journey on a slab of dark green jade. Deities paddle the boat that carries the maize god, a spider monkey, dog, parrot and iguana with human attributes. The original image is etched into bone discovered at burial 166 in Tikal, and is on there display at the Morley Museum.

The Guatemalan artisans display the plaque on a black pinewood base.

Wearing the skin of a jaguar, a young man dances to the sound of an unseen drum as he imitates the movements of the lithe jungle cat. Ruben and Gilda Perez depicts an image from a vase discovered at Altar de Sacrificios, an ancient Maya site locate upriver from Yaxchilan. An offering in Burial 96, the original polychrome vase is crafted of terracotta and on display at Guatemala's Museum of Anthropology and History.

The Guatemalan artisans etch the intricate motifs into natural jade and display the plaque on a black pinewood base.

"Mexico's ancient Olmec people were experts at carving jade," artisans from the Angel Cerón Artisan Association say. "They did so with skill and perfection. The jaguar was a favorite theme, and they frequently depicted human faces with cat-like features. These were the legendary jaguar-men who inspired this original mask." The artisans work in ceramic to craft an intriguing mask that pays tribute to Olmec cosmology.

A yellow serpent with jade green feathers crowns this intriguing mask from the ancient city of Teotihuacan. A highly revered deity in Mexico's ancient civilizations, Quetzalcoatl was related to the gods of wind, dawn, merchants, knowledge and art. Artisans from the Angel Cerón Artisan Association craft the piece of yellow clay from Oaxaca, colored with mineral tints.

Angel Cerón reveals the presence of Chalchiuhtlicue as he works with clay extracted from the state of Oaxaca. Officially authorized to replicate pre-Hispanic museum pieces, Cerón crafts a detailed statuette of this feminine deity, the female companion of Tlaloc, Aztec god of rain. The original is dated between 1325 and 1521 A.D. Chalchiuhtlicue is the goddess of lakes, rivers, fountains, seas and oceans, and thus the protector of sailors and is also known as "She with the Jade Skirt" symbolizing pure and crystalline running water. "Chalchiuhtlicue is usually depicted holding a staff representing lightning, and a bag of copal, where clouds are formed. She is revered as the female principle of life and patron of midwives and newborns," explains Cerón who though he has officially retired, he continues to pursue his life-long passion for pre-Hispanic art.