gems, jade, jadeite, fei cui, Mesoamerica, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mayans, Olmecs, Aztecs, archaeology, history, archaeogemology, Pre-Columbian jade; Costa Rica; Maya; exchange; iconography, lapidary

Exceptionally rare is this beautifully carved jade sculpture representing the Maya God of Number 13 (Figure 1). Standing seven centimetres high, this anthropomorphic figure is the only carved jade depiction of this deity that I have ever encountered. I refer to this figure as the Celestial God of Number 13 in order to distinguish it from other representations of the God of Number 13 that lack the crossed bands in the mouth, although they may display all or some of the other diagnostic features of this particular deity. In the following discussion, I examine the other manifestations of this god—the Water Lily God form with the tied bow around the water-lily pad on the forehead, the uinal (Maya month) headdress form, the tun (year) form, and the hieroglyphic forms—and explore the relationships among them.