Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Guerrero, Mezcala culture, ca. 200 BCE to 500 CE. A finely carved and string-cut stone sculpture representing a temple facade, the stone of rich creamy beige hues. Mezcala sculptural houses or temples began to intrigue collectors after the infamous ethnologist and art historian Miguel Covarrubias published a seminal paper on the subject. Featured in exhibitions in New York and Mexico City in the 1960s, scholars began to wax poetic about such elegant architectural models. For instance, according to Carlo Gay, these works are "located at the junction of stillness and motion, time and eternity." (Carlo Gay, Mezcala Architecture in Miniature, 1987: 7). Size: 2.625" W x 3.625" H (6.7 cm x 9.2 cm)

Stone models in the Mezcala style come largely from the present-day state of Guerrero, in southwest Mexico. A particularly long-lived tradition, these works may have been produced over some one thousand years, from as early as 500 BCE. Little is known about their archaeological contexts, and there are few points of reference with surviving architecture in the region. It is possible that these models emulate buildings with stone columns, such as those from Cuetlajuchitlan; alternatively they could recall above- or below-ground funerary structures, in which case the columns would represent wood supports of a tomb or a funerary pyre.

Provenance: private Stagecoach, Nevada, USA collection; acquired from 1985 to present from galleries such as Arte Primitivo, Art For Eternity, Butterfields, and Riverbend Gallery

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Repaired from three pieces with normal surface wear.