A chunky, anthropomorphic standing idol, carved from grey stone. The figure is characteristically abstract and minimalistic, with simple carved facial features, squared shoulders delineated through use of the string-cutting technique, and the entire figure has a semi-smooth texture.
Supplied with a simple acrylic display stand.
Pre-Columbian Mexico, Guerrero, Mezcala culture: Circa 300-100 BC.
Condition: Complete and intact. Excellent ancient surface patina. Intact, with a few light accretions.
Height 10.94 cms (4.3 ins)
Provenance: Estate of Eugene (1899-1985) and Hedwig (1897-1989) Fleischhacker, Ontario, Canada and New Hampshire. Collected 1950's-1970's. To family by descent.
Literature: Carlo Gay and Frances Pratt, Mezcala, Ancient Stone Sculpture from Guerrero, Mexico, 1992, pls. 246-248
A nice 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.