Pre-Columbian, southern Mexico, Toltec, ca. 900 to 1200 CE. A carved sandstone panel depicting a relief elite anthropomorphic figure wearing a huge headdress decorated with rounded bosses and a giant pectoral/necklace of multiple strands. The figure holds its large phallus with both hands and stares straight ahead with large, narrowed, oval eyes. At the bottom of the panel is a series of triangles, also with incised, round bosses. Size: 3.5" L x 10.2" W x 14.75" H (8.9 cm x 25.9 cm x 37.5 cm)

The Toltec capital, Tula, was covered in stone relief panels similar to this one, as were architectural features at the Mayan city of Chichen Itza. These were ceremonial, with religious meanings that would have been immediately understandable to their original audience. Tula had a population of tens of thousands of people and the city was centered around a plaza bordered by a five-stepped pyramid, two other pyramids, and two ball courts. Looking at a panel like this one would have immediately told inhabitants of Tula who the buildings in their urban space honored. Who is the figure represented here? Probably a ruler or certainly an elite personage, who was likely associated with a deity to emphasize his power.

Provenance: collection of the late Alfred E. Stendahl, Stendahl Gallery, Los Angeles, California, USA

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#126373

Surface wear including small areas of loss to face. Deposits of kaliche, manganese, soil, and plant matter.