Postcard of Tuxtla Statuette

Summary

Grayscale postcard of the Tuxtla statuette on exhibit at the United States National Museum, now the National Museum of Natural History. The postcard is unused, but the message side has a printed note about the statuette: "The Original Tuxtla Statuette, oldest known dated antiquity from the New World. Found near San Andreas Tuxtla, in the State of Vera Cruz, Mexico, in 1902, this jadeite figurine, 16.5 cm. (6.5 inches) high, bears upon its front an incised Maya date corresponding to 98 B. C."

Subject

• United States National Museum
• National Museum of Natural History (U.S.)
• National Collections

Category

Historic Images of the Smithsonian

Notes

• The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) first opened to the public on March 17, 1910 as the new United States National Museum. The National Museum was first housed in what is now the Arts and Industries Building.
• After further research, the Tuxtla statuette was given a new date of 162 A.D.
• Another one of these postcards can be fond in SIA2008-2786, Record Unit 7306, Box 2, Foler: Watson Perrygo Papers, postcards

Contained within

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 65, Box 16, Folder: Postcards

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

1933

Restrictions & Rights

No restrictions

Topic

• Postcard
• Archaeology
• Sculpture
• Exhibitions
• Anthropology
• Tuxtla Statuette
• Statues

Form/Genre

• Postcard
• Paper

ID Number

SIA2013-07807 (front) and SIA2013-07808 (back)

Physical description

Number of Images: 2; Color: Black and White; Size: 3.4w x 5.4h; Type of Image: Postcard; Medium: Paper

Full Record

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