Mezcala Greenstone Face Panel - PF.3029,Origin: Guerrero, Mexico,Circa: 500 BC to 400 AD,Dimensions: 6.875" (17.5cm) high x 5" (12.7cm) wide,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style: Mezcala,Medium: Greenstone. Recovered from dedicatory caches in Guerrero, this sculpture of a face is a mysterious artistic product of Mezcala culture's obsessive votive Celt cult. Mezcala was a stone-centered culture that is considered as preolmec. The sculptors of this period carved their votive offerings out of hard stones such as andesite and serpentine. This sculpture of a face is smoothly carved out of green stone with a soft shade of the color the face is carved with a bold simplicity, which distinctly defines the facial features. Although ancient, its minimal quality evokes a sense of modern minimal abstraction which heightens the sculpture's artistic quality. Mezcala sculptors were driven by the impact of sheer physical necessity and produced the stone carvings for their obsessive rituals in mass quantity. Though produced in great quantity, the sculptors carved the hard, unyielding stone with absolute sureness and special sculptural sensitivity. Each mark, each indentation is a precious outcome of earnest carving that describes the facial features. Possessing remarkable abstract and modern features, the sculpture appeals to our senses even today.

Antiquities
Ancient Central America & Mexico