A chunky, anthropomorphic figure or idol, carved from mottled grey stone. The figure is characteristically abstract and minimalistic. The neckline, arms, and legs are all delineated through use of the meticulous string-cutting technique, and the entire figure has a semi-smooth texture. Supplied with a custom metal display base.
 
Pre-Columbian Mexico, Guerrero, Mezcala culture: Circa 300-100 BC.
 
Condition: Very Fine; complete and intact, with a few light accretions.
Height 11.1 cms (4.4 ins)
 
Provenance: Private California collection. ex Galerie Walu, Zurich, 1980s, ex Peter and Veera Schnell, Zurich.
 
A fine example of ancient abstact art. The Mezcala culture from the mountainous region of Guerrero in modern-day Mexico is famous for its prolific production of stone sculpture, which includes human figures, animal effigies and architectural models. Little is known about this ancient civilisation, other than that it chose to bury its dead with these abstract, esoteric stone carvings, and that it was the only one of the Mesoamerican civilizations to have been so focused on architecture.
 
Literature: According to Gay/Pratt, Mezcala, NY 1992, this very impressive and, as is usually the case with Mezcala, highly abstract figure belongs to type group M 10.
 
Carlo Gay and Frances Pratt, Mezcala, Ancient Stone Sculpture from Guerrero, Mexico, 1992, pls. 246-248