Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Aztec Empire, ca. 1400 to 1521 CE. A substantial sculpture carved from porous volcanic stone depicting a standing abstract anthropomorphic deity figure. The figure has a broad torso over which both arms are crossed, each with a petite shoulder leading upwards to a thick neck. A blocky head boasts a minimalist visage of hemispherical eyes, a bar-shaped nose, an open mouth with full lips, and rounded cheeks, all contained beneath a simple headdress which may have displayed ornate carved plumage at one time, as in the Metropolitan Museum of Art example linked below. The exact identification of this deity is difficult to discern due to the faded features and fragmentary form, though the crossed arms suggest this effigy represents a male deity. It may have been a protective funerary marker. A fabulous and abstract example from the mighty Aztec Empire! Size: 8.5" W x 15.75" H (21.6 cm x 40 cm).

Aztec stone sculpture is a culmination of centuries of stone carving in Mesoamerica, and, using fragile volcanic stone, these ancient artists were able to create remarkably detailed and poignant artworks. Based on the figure's pose, this is almost certainly a male deity. The Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History substantiates this masculine designation by explaining how deity figures were "customarily shown in frontal view and strictly symmetrical, females are frequently kneeling, while male figures are often sitting with their knees drawn up and their arms crossed upon them" (https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/azss/hd_azss.htm). Along with youthful faces, half-open mouths, and other stylized features, Aztec people would have instantly known who this god was and what it meant to see him in his place of honor.

For a similar example with more clearly-defined features, please see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 00.5.119: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/319239

Provenance: private Los Angeles, California, USA; ex-Albert Stendahl, owner of Stendahl Gallery, Los Angeles, California, USA

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#134370

This is a fragment of a larger figure. Surface wear and abrasions commensurate with age as expected, fading to most carved features, small chips to base, arms, face, and head, and some minor discoloration. Nice earthen deposits throughout.