Maya Eccentric Chert Perforated Ring with Serrated Rim

Pre-Columbian, Guatemala, Maya. An eccentric of knapped chert, shaped as an open ring with a wide central perforation. Its outer edge is worked into a crown of small, regular teeth, broken by a deeper notch that gives the outline a lopsided, almost living profile. The stone is milky white to pale gray, with smoky blue-black veins sweeping across one side and translucent edges where the flaking thins the material. Making a perforated form like this meant removing stone from the center as well as the edge, and the knapper could not undo a single misjudged blow. Eccentrics were made as non-utilitarian objects and are usually found in dedicatory caches and elite burials, so this piece was likely an offering. The ring shape may refer to a mace head, a form known within the eccentric repertoire, though that reading is not certain. The Maya prized flint and chert well beyond their practical use. Early Mesoamericans learned that the stone could strike sparks, and they linked it to lightning. Some believed flint formed where lightning struck the earth. The association lasted: K'awiil, the lightning deity tied to royal power, is one of the figures most often shown in eccentric form, sometimes in obsidian brought in through long-distance trade. During the Late Classic period, specialist workshops made eccentrics of great thinness and complexity: scorpions, serpents, centipedes, human profiles, and abstract or weapon-like shapes. Archaeologists find them most often in groups, buried as caches beneath stelae or placed in elite tombs. Some have a tang, which suggests they were mounted on a staff or scepter. They are usually recovered unworn, with edges too fragile for cutting, which supports the view that they were made for ceremonial display and offering rather than use. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. Item # 205748

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