**Originally Listed At $1200**

Pre-Columbian, Guatemala, Postclassic Maya Period, ca. 1000 to 1200 CE. Carved from a beautiful piece of basalt in a very clever manner, a monkey who is full of personality, sitting/kneeling upon exceedingly long folded legs, arms curved at the sides with both hands placed upon his abdominal region - the digits of both hands and feet nicely delineated, and looking out with a silly grimace presenting bulging eyes, a wide nose, and smiling lips. An endearing simian, skillfully carved from a single stone - perhaps a depiction for Batz, the Maya Howler Monkey God, who was an important deity of the arts as well as a patron of scribes and sculptors. Size: 6.125" L x 3.125" W x 5.375" H (15.6 cm x 7.9 cm x 13.7 cm)

Monkeys were often depicted on Maya vases engaged in writing and carving human heads. Scholars have suggested that these activities may have represented a metaphor for creation of humankind. According to the Popol Vuh, Hun-Chowen and Hun-Batz 'One-Howler Monkey' were both artists and musicians who had a major conflict with their half-brothers, the Maya Hero Twins. It was this conflict that resulted in their transformation into monkeys.

Maya artisans used obsidian chisels, mallets and hammers made of flint and wood, and obsidian knives to create their sculptures. The use of basalt places this carving to the Maya uplands (lowlands carved in limestone); the three-dimensional carving in the round places it to the Postclassic period. The Spaniards wrote of the Aztecs believing that stone quarried to be carved had magical properties and was alive, able to speak and offer prophecies; [perhaps the Maya had similar beliefs.

Provenance: ex-private New Jersey, USA collection acquired around 1980

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Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.

#149295

Normal surface wear with old nicks/abrasions commensurate with age but intact. Nice deposits grace the surface.