Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Guerrero State, Mezcala culture, ca. 400 to 100 BCE. A beautiful anthropomorphic axe god figure, hand-carved from emerald-green pecked diorite with orange, grey, black, and beige inclusions. The delineated legs taper downward to stocky points, and a rectangular abdomen is flanked by slender arms. Planar shoulders support a massive head which presents diagonal eyes, an open mouth, and bar-shaped ears. The neck line, eyes, mouth, arm lines, and waist are all formed via the string-cutting technique, and the figure is meticulously polished to a lustrous sheen. An exceptional example replete with expert artistry and beautiful color! Custom museum-quality display stand included. Size: 1.55" W x 4.5" H (3.9 cm x 11.4 cm); 4.875" H (12.4 cm) on included custom stand.

The Mezcala sculptors brilliantly used string-saw technology to differentiate facial features and limbs. The ancient artisans of this region were particularly adept at reducing the human body to simple, eloquent forms via this string cut technique. The result ironically appeals to a modernist taste for minimalism. Mezcala sculptural works are equally appealing for the inherent beauty of the stone selected by the ancients.

For similar examples, please see: Gay, Carlo. MEZCALA: Ancient Stone Sculpture from Guerrero, Mexico. Balsas Publications, Geneva, Switzerland, 1992, pp. 193 - 199.

Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-Dr. Delmar Cosby, La Mesa, California, USA, a dentist who practiced in Mexico in the 1950s and 1960s

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#137535

Head of figure reattached with some small chips and light adhesive residue along break lines. Surface wear and minor abrasions commensurate with age, small nicks to head, body, and legs, with some roughness along corners. Light earthen deposits throughout. Old inventory information in black ink as well as old inventory label on verso.