Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Guerrero region, Mezcala, ca. 500 to 200 BCE. A fine Mezcala standing anthropomorphic figure, hand-carved and string-cut from a mottled pale-green stone with dark inclusions, displaying an elegant minimalist aesthetic and presenting an unusual form that fits somewhere between an M-8 type - with its broad face, sloping cheek planes that meet at the central vertical ridge suggestive of a nose, and a flatter temporal region - and an M-10 type, which according to expert Carlo Gay showed significant changes advancing them over the previous four types. For instance, note how the flat plane across the lower section of the face is an uninterrupted area as opposed to the narrow, slit mouth of earlier figures. The figure also boasts a rotund abdomen with recessed grooves indicative of "arms," and stands atop thick, delineated legs. A wonderful example from early Mexico! Custom museum-quality display stand included. Size: 3" W x 8" H (7.6 cm x 20.3 cm); 8.25" H (21 cm) on included custom stand.

According to Gay, "At its best, the M-10 type epitomizes Mezcala sculpture, representing an optimal solution to carving a viable portrayal of the human figure in an intractable material and with simple tools." (Gay, Carlo. Mezcala Ancient Stone Sculpture from Guerrero Mexico. Balsas Publications, New York, 1992, p. 51). For a similar example, please see p. 51, plate 33 of Gay's text.

Provenance: private Huntington Valley, Pennsylvania, USA collection

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Surface wear and abrasions commensurate with age, losses to one foot and top of head, small nicks to legs, body, and head, with light roughness across most surfaces. Nice earthen deposits and light mineral deposits throughout.