**Originally Listed At $500**

Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Guerrero, Guerrero (Mezcala)/Chontal, ca. 600 to 400 BCE. A hand-carved and string-cut abstract standing figure shaped from a smooth green hardstone. The legs and arms, sharply-angled neckline, and delineations on the shoulders were all created using the string-cutting technique. His face displays an indifferent expression with a heavy browline, triangular nose, deep lines alongside it, and a small mouth. Size: 1.7" W x 3.55" H (4.3 cm x 9 cm)

Ancient Mesoamerican cultures are thought to be some of the most spiritually-conscious groups, not through written word but through their artistic creations. While the true meaning of these items has been lost to the sands of time, their symbolic meanings have been extrapolated from similar examples and item typologies. Later Mesoamerican peoples clearly cherished their portable sculptures as heirlooms. Chontal creations have been unearthed in ritual caches at Templo Mayor, the principle temple of the fifteenth-century Aztecs of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City). The Guerrero region of modern-day southwestern Mexico was the center of the Mezcala and Chontal stone carving traditions. While Mezcala artists are known for their abstract, geometric style, the Chontal sculptors imbued their artworks with more naturalism.

Provenance: private Stagecoach, Nevada, USA collection; acquired from 1985 to present from galleries such as Arte Primitivo, Art For Eternity, Butterfields, and Riverbend Gallery

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#128711

Small chip from forehead, otherwise in excellent condition. Light surface wear commensurate with age.