Pre-Columbian, Costa Rica, Guanacaste / Nicoya region, ca. 200 to 600 CE. An enigmatic standing figure, hand-carved from a mottled pale-green stone with beige and dark inclusions. The form is tapered with a round handle end and a curving bottom edge, and a biconically-drilled hole through the neck allows for suspension. The obverse side depicts abstract avian features with drilled eyes and string-cut features including a wide beak, slender arms with delineated fingers, a furrowed brow, and a zigzag-adorned headband. Custom museum-quality display stand included. Size: 2" W x 5" H (5.1 cm x 12.7 cm); 5.75" H (14.6 cm) on included custom stand.

The ancient Costa Ricans were influenced by the Olmec to their north, and may have even repurposed Mesoamerican hand axes for their own purposes. The figure here has incised carvings that reveal minimalist facial features characteristic of early Costa Rican artwork. This carving was likely a funerary offering placed in a tomb along with an individual of notoriety or prestige.

Provenance: private Los Angeles County, California, USA collection

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#138661

Surface wear and abrasions commensurate with age, small nicks to blade edge, suspension hole openings, and verso, with light fading to some string-cut details, and light roughness across verso and peripheries. Light earthen deposits throughout. Two old inventory labels on verso.