**First Time At Auction**

Pre-Columbian, Southern Mexico, Guerrero region, Chontal culture, Late Preclassic Period, ca. 300 to 100 BCE. A handsome mask carved from tan-brown stone exhibiting well-preserved facial features. The physiognomy include openwork, generously-lidded eyes, a tall nose with drilled nostrils, slender ears with perforated lobes, and a wide, furrowed brow. Deep nasolabial folds and rounded cheeks further define the face while thick, downturned lips create a stern expression for the mouth. Additional biconical drill holes along the upper periphery and verso indicate how this mask was attached to either the living or the dead. Size: 4.5" W x 6" H (11.4 cm x 15.2 cm); 7.75" H (19.7 cm) on included custom stand.

The Guerrero region of modern-day southwestern Mexico was the center of the Mezcala and Chontal stone carving traditions. While Mezcala artists are known for their abstract, geometric style, the Chontal sculptors imbued their artworks with more naturalism. Although their stonework stems from the Preclassic period, ca. 300 to 100 BCE, later Mesoamerican peoples clearly cherished Chontal portable sculptures as heirlooms. Chontal creations have been unearthed in ritual caches at Templo Mayor, the principle temple of the fifteenth-century Aztecs of Tenochititlan (Mexico City).

What's more, legendary 20th century modernists such as Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, and Miguel Covarrubias appreciated the minimalist qualities of Chontal art. Covarrubias went so far as to compare it to the Cycladic style of ancient Greece. Scholars believe that such masks were tied to funerary bundles of the noble elite; however, the smaller scale suggests it may have been attached to clothing. Note the multitude of perforations at the peripheries for such attachment.

A similar example of larger form hammered for $30,000 at Christie's, New York "Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas including Property from the Estate of Ernst Beyeler" auction (sale 2661, May 10, 2012, lot 28).

PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.

Provenance: private Hawaii collection, acquired 2000 to 2010; ex-Colin Arundel collection, California, USA

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#177458

Professional repair and restoration to right periphery along verso, with resurfacing and overpainting along new material and break lines. A few scratches from display stand along peripheries on verso. Abrasions and small nicks, with encrustations in scattered areas, otherwise in excellent condition. Great surface smoothness and wonderful preservation to physiognomy. Previous inventory label on verso of mask and beneath display stand.