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Huetar Basalt Relief Figures
Huetar Basalt Relief Figures
Volcanic Stone Trophy Head
Volcanic Stone Trophy Head
Diquís Stone Owl with Inverted Head
Diquís Stone Owl with Inverted Head
Greater Nicoya Mother and Child Figurine
Greater Nicoya Mother and Child Figurine
Nicoya Jaguar Tripod Vessels
Nicoya Jaguar Tripod Vessels
Diquís Stone Barrels and Ceremonial Seat
Diquís Stone Barrels and Ceremonial Seat
Greater Nicoya Jadeite Bead Necklace
Greater Nicoya Jadeite Bead Necklace
Ceremonial Metate with Geometric Carvings
Ceremonial Metate with Geometric Carvings
Nicoya Tripod Bowls with Fertility Legs
Nicoya Tripod Bowls with Fertility Legs
Pre-Columbian Chorotega Jaw with Filed Teeth
Pre-Columbian Chorotega Jaw with Filed Teeth
Ceramic Tripod Bowl with Lizards
Ceramic Tripod Bowl with Lizards
Tripod Bowl with Frog Legs
Tripod Bowl with Frog Legs
Huetar Warrior with Geometric Pectoral
Huetar Warrior with Geometric Pectoral
Nicoya Metate with Dual-Figure Support
Nicoya Metate with Dual-Figure Support
Chorotega Phallic Flute
Chorotega Phallic Flute
Gran Nicoya Tripod Vessel with Rabbit
Gran Nicoya Tripod Vessel with Rabbit
Guanacaste-Nicoya Jade God-Axe Pendant
Guanacaste-Nicoya Jade God-Axe Pendant
Nicoya Vessel with Raccoon Handle
Nicoya Vessel with Raccoon Handle
Greater Nicoya Owl Whistle
Greater Nicoya Owl Whistle
Diquís Stone Figure in Squatting Pose
Diquís Stone Figure in Squatting Pose
Greater Nicoya Jade Figurine
Greater Nicoya Jade Figurine
Greater Nicoya Tripod Vessel with Peccary Head
Greater Nicoya Tripod Vessel with Peccary Head
Nicoya Phallic Vessel
Nicoya Phallic Vessel
Greater Nicoya Vessel with Mythical Creature
Greater Nicoya Vessel with Mythical Creature
Greater Nicoya Ritual Vessel with Zoomorphic Spout
Greater Nicoya Ritual Vessel with Zoomorphic Spout
Greater Nicoya Seated Male Vessel
Greater Nicoya Seated Male Vessel
Nicoya Jaguar-Dragon Effigy Vessel
Nicoya Jaguar-Dragon Effigy Vessel
Guanacaste-Nicoya Necklace with Shell and Jade Beads
Guanacaste-Nicoya Necklace with Shell and Jade Beads
Greater Nicoya Feline Effigy Vessel
Greater Nicoya Feline Effigy Vessel
Huetar Warrior with Trophy Head
Huetar Warrior with Trophy Head
Nicoya Female Figures
Nicoya Female Figures
Phallic Flutes from Greater Nicoya
Phallic Flutes from Greater Nicoya
Greater Nicoya Jade Monkey Pendants
Greater Nicoya Jade Monkey Pendants
Greater Nicoya Seated Male Statue
Greater Nicoya Seated Male Statue
Greater Nicoya Turtle Effigy Bowl
Greater Nicoya Turtle Effigy Bowl
Nicoya Stone Seat
Nicoya Stone Seat
Guanacaste–Nicoya Tripod Bowl with Monkey Figures
Guanacaste–Nicoya Tripod Bowl with Monkey Figures
Greater Nicoya Phallic Ceremonial Vessels
Greater Nicoya Phallic Ceremonial Vessels
Maya Bowl with Celestial Serpent
Maya Bowl with Celestial Serpent
Greater Nicoya Seated Male Statue
Greater Nicoya Seated Male Statue
Nicoya Bowl with Swirling Cross
Nicoya Bowl with Swirling Cross
Veraguas Tripod Vessel with Seated Figures
Veraguas Tripod Vessel with Seated Figures
Greater Nicoya Jade Necklace
Greater Nicoya Jade Necklace
Greater Nicoya Female Ceramic Vessel
Greater Nicoya Female Ceramic Vessel
Greater Nicoya Frog Motif on Ceramic Vessel
Greater Nicoya Frog Motif on Ceramic Vessel
Greater Nicoya Lizard Detail from Tripod Vessel
Greater Nicoya Lizard Detail from Tripod Vessel
Greater Nicoya Tripod Vessel with Dancers
Greater Nicoya Tripod Vessel with Dancers
Guanacaste-Nicoya Warrior Statue
Guanacaste-Nicoya Warrior Statue
Greater Nicoya Tripod Vessel with Bound Side Jars
Greater Nicoya Tripod Vessel with Bound Side Jars
Chiriquí Vessel with Feline Motif
Chiriquí Vessel with Feline Motif
Greater Nicoya Toad-Shaped Shaman
Greater Nicoya Toad-Shaped Shaman
Turtle-Bird Hybrid Figurine
Turtle-Bird Hybrid Figurine
Greater Nicoya Ceramic Bird Vessel
Greater Nicoya Ceramic Bird Vessel
Nicoya Shamanic Transformation Column
Nicoya Shamanic Transformation Column
Guanacaste–Nicoya Crocodilian Leg Detail (detail)
Guanacaste–Nicoya Crocodilian Leg Detail (detail)
Greater Nicoya Vessel with Mollusk-Like Creatures
Greater Nicoya Vessel with Mollusk-Like Creatures
Guanacaste–Nicoya Tripod Vessel with Crocodilian Motifs
Guanacaste–Nicoya Tripod Vessel with Crocodilian Motifs
Greater Nicoya Jadeite Necklace with Pendant
Greater Nicoya Jadeite Necklace with Pendant
Greater Nicoya Seated Male Figure
Greater Nicoya Seated Male Figure
Nicoya Female Figure on Feline
Nicoya Female Figure on Feline
Shamanic Figure with Animal Traits
Shamanic Figure with Animal Traits
Nicoya Ceremonial Metate with Female Effigy Legs
Nicoya Ceremonial Metate with Female Effigy Legs
Nicoya Metate with Female Effigy Leg
Nicoya Metate with Female Effigy Leg
Greater Nicoya Vessel in the Shape of a Rabbit
Greater Nicoya Vessel in the Shape of a Rabbit
Huetar Standing Male Figure
Huetar Standing Male Figure
Greater Nicoya God-Axe with Shamanic Headdress
Greater Nicoya God-Axe with Shamanic Headdress
Maya Polychrome Vessel with Warrior
Maya Polychrome Vessel with Warrior
Nicoya Tripod Vessel with Shaman-Jaguar Hybrid
Nicoya Tripod Vessel with Shaman-Jaguar Hybrid
Guanacaste–Nicoya Tripod Vessel with Lizards
Guanacaste–Nicoya Tripod Vessel with Lizards
Diquís Gold Frog Pendant
Diquís Gold Frog Pendant
Nicoya Ceremonial Metate with Macaw Effigy
Nicoya Ceremonial Metate with Macaw Effigy
Nicoya Female Jaguar-Shaman Figure
Nicoya Female Jaguar-Shaman Figure
Greater Nicoya Whistle with Seated Figure
Greater Nicoya Whistle with Seated Figure
Guanacaste-Nicoya Tripod Vessel with Feline Effigy
Guanacaste-Nicoya Tripod Vessel with Feline Effigy
Greater Nicoya Stylized God-Axe
Greater Nicoya Stylized God-Axe
Nicoya Jade Pendant
Nicoya Jade Pendant
Greater Nicoya Jaguar Vessel
Greater Nicoya Jaguar Vessel
Nicoya Phallic Sculpture
Nicoya Phallic Sculpture
Nicoya Funerary Vessel with Tattooed Face
Nicoya Funerary Vessel with Tattooed Face
Guanacaste-Nicoya Jade Bead Necklace
Guanacaste-Nicoya Jade Bead Necklace
Nicoya Metate with Monkey Effigies
Nicoya Metate with Monkey Effigies
Diquís Anthropomorphic Whistle
Diquís Anthropomorphic Whistle

Jade Museum

Jade Museum in San José holds Costa Rica’s most important collection of pre-Columbian jade, a greenstone prized less as ornament than as a living force tied to breath, fertility, and authority. God-axes, pendants, and figures—many from Greater Nicoya, 500 BC–500 AD—show how elites and ritual specialists wore and buried jade to mark rank and mediate with spirits. Set beside ceramics and shell, the stone becomes a key to early societies and the worlds they imagined.

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