Mezcala Greenstone Amulet of a Standing Figure - PF.1046,Origin: Guerrero, Mexico,Circa: 300 BC to 300 AD,Dimensions: 5" (12.7cm) high,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style:  More »

Mezcala Greenstone Amulet of a Standing Figure - PF.1046,Origin: Guerrero, Mexico,Circa: 300 BC to 300 AD,Dimensions: 5" (12.7cm) high,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style: Mezcala,Medium: Greenstone. Powerful in its simplicity, this flat talisman was probably worn around the neck to bring good fortune. It represents a person in perpetual prayer, asking favor of the gods. The person who once wore it and the gods he believed in have been forgotten with time. Yet, in the presence of this amulet, we feel the energy, the heartbeat of that distant life and the colorful world he inhabited.   « Less

Mezcala Greenstone Face Panel - PF.1259,Origin: Guerrero, Mexico,Circa: 300 BC to 300 AD,Dimensions: 5.25" (13.3cm) high,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style: Mezcala,Medium:  More »

Mezcala Greenstone Face Panel - PF.1259,Origin: Guerrero, Mexico,Circa: 300 BC to 300 AD,Dimensions: 5.25" (13.3cm) high,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style: Mezcala,Medium: Greenstone. So monumental and eternal is this ancient head that the features seem to have been carved by the hand of nature rather than by man. Just a few bold lines are used to define the total personality: powerful, confident, aristocratic. The eyes may originally have been painted in, but their absence gives the impression of vision which radiates from within. As commanding as the patrician portraits of ancient Rome, with which it is contemporary, this remarkable head defines an age, a class, a culture.   « Less

Mezcala Stone Standing Figure - PF.2187,Origin: Guerrero, Mexico,Circa: 300 BC to 300 AD,Dimensions: 8" (20.3cm) high,Catalogue: V6,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style:  More »

Mezcala Stone Standing Figure - PF.2187,Origin: Guerrero, Mexico,Circa: 300 BC to 300 AD,Dimensions: 8" (20.3cm) high,Catalogue: V6,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style: Mezcala,Medium: Stone. There is a monolithic quality about this impressive sculpture. Carved from a single river rock, it gives the impression of being much larger than it actually is. If one saw a photograph of it, without any sense of scale, one might imagine it to be very large, like the figures on Easter Island. Holding it in our hands, we are still awed by its simple energy, its rudimentary suggestion of the human presence. Such a figure seems primal in its power, as old as the earth itself.   « Less

Mezcala Stone Standing Figure - PF.2265,Origin: Guerrero, Mexico,Circa: 300 BC to 300 AD,Dimensions: 4.5" (11.4cm) high,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style: Mezcala,Medium:  More »

Mezcala Stone Standing Figure - PF.2265,Origin: Guerrero, Mexico,Circa: 300 BC to 300 AD,Dimensions: 4.5" (11.4cm) high,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style: Mezcala,Medium: Stone. Powerful and mysterious, the human form seems to emerge from the soul of the stone itself. With the simplest of details, a few quick lines, the artist has delineated a very real personality. There is something primal about this figure, as if he had been around since the rock itself was new. He radiates the energy of monolithic sculpture on a much larger scale.   « Less

Mezcala Stone Standing Figure - PF.2329,Origin: Guerrero, Mexico,Circa: 500 BC to 400 AD,Dimensions: 10.125" (25.7cm) high,Catalogue: V8,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style:  More »

Mezcala Stone Standing Figure - PF.2329,Origin: Guerrero, Mexico,Circa: 500 BC to 400 AD,Dimensions: 10.125" (25.7cm) high,Catalogue: V8,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style: Mezcala,Medium: Stone. The people of Ancient Mezcala, a region in the central portion of the Mexican state of Guerrero, developed a unique art style based on the cult of the votive Celt, an axe used for hafting. Although the Mezcala culture probably sprang from the same roots as the ancient Olmec, their relative isolation in the mountain valleys resulted in a stone-centered artistic culture, which developed and flourished independent of neighboring influences. As evidenced in this striking celt, carved in the form of a male figure, their highly stylized and abstract form of rendering resulted in a powerful image, one that instantly evokes spiritual magnetism and energy. The skilled abstraction of form which highlights and accentuates only the essence of the object is reminiscent of ancient Cycladic art of 4000 years ago as well as early Twentieth-Century art, and in fact served to inspire these early cubist and abstract artists. The ancient utilitarian function of this carved figure can still be seen. This roughened edge on the head of the figure, when combined with the smooth polished finish of the face and body, gives a distinctive tactile quality to this ancient and spirited figure. To hold this extraordinary stone carving is to reach across time and space and capture the sensory spirit of the ancient culture that created it.   « Less

Mezcala Stone Standing Figure - PF.2330,Origin: Guerrero, Mexico,Circa: 500 BC to 400 AD,Dimensions: 8.25" (21.0cm) high,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style: Mezcala,Medium:  More »

Mezcala Stone Standing Figure - PF.2330,Origin: Guerrero, Mexico,Circa: 500 BC to 400 AD,Dimensions: 8.25" (21.0cm) high,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style: Mezcala,Medium: Stone. Along the region of the Rio Mezcala in the central portion of the Mexican state of Guerrero, an ancient culture evolved which created highly expressive and powerful stone ritual objects such as this stunning anthropomorphic axe. Possibly springing from the same roots as the famous Olmec culture, the people of Mezcala imbued these Celts, axes used for hafting, with both magical and spiritual symbolism. The original form and meaning of the Celt can still be seen, however, in the roughened surface on the top of the head of the figure, which looks as if it were made to be the receiving and of a chisel. The talented Mezcala artists who created these dynamic ritual Celts developed a powerful, expressive style of abstraction remarkably close to that of many modern artists. In stone carving such as this, a few deftly chiseled lines and shapes produce an abstracted human figure that clearly expresses all the powerful and essential elements of its being. A haunting face stares out at us, its wide-eyed gaze quite spirited and expressive. Although the Ancient Mezcala people themselves remain an enigmatic mystery, they reach out and share with us, through their extraordinary works of art, the timeless and Universal mystery and beauty of life.   « Less

Mezcala Stone Standing Figure - PF.2344,Origin: Guerrero, Mexico,Circa: 300 BC to 100 BC,Dimensions: 4.125" (10.5cm) high,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style: Mezcala,Medium:  More »

Mezcala Stone Standing Figure - PF.2344,Origin: Guerrero, Mexico,Circa: 300 BC to 100 BC,Dimensions: 4.125" (10.5cm) high,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style: Mezcala,Medium: Stone. Along the region of the Rio Mezcala in the Central portion of the Mexican state of Guerrero, an ancient culture evolved which created highly expressive and powerful stone ritual objects such as this stunning anthropomorphic axe. Possibly springing from the same roots as the famous Olmec culture, the people of Mezcala imbued these Celts, axes used for hafting, with both magical and spiritual symbolism. The talented Mezcala artists who created these dynamic ritual Celts developed a powerful, expressive style of abstraction remarkably close to that of many modern artists. In stone carvings such as this, a few deftly chiseled lines and shapes produce an abstracted human figure that clearly expresses all the powerful and essential elements of its being. Although the Ancient Mezcala people themselves remain an enigmatic mystery, they reach out and share with us, through their extraordinary works of art, the timeless and Universal beauty of life's expression.   « Less

Mezcala Stone Standing Figure - PF.2345,Origin: Guerrero, Mexico,Circa: 300 BC to 100 BC,Dimensions: 5.375" (13.7cm) high,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style: Mezcala,Medium:  More »

Mezcala Stone Standing Figure - PF.2345,Origin: Guerrero, Mexico,Circa: 300 BC to 100 BC,Dimensions: 5.375" (13.7cm) high,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style: Mezcala,Medium: Stone. The people of Ancient Mezcala, a region in the central portion of the Mexican state of Guerrero, developed a unique art style based on the cult of the votive Celt, an axe used for hafting. Although the Mezcala culture probably sprang from the same roots as the Ancient Olmec, their relative isolation in the mountain valleys resulted in a stone-centered artistic culture, which developed and flourished independent of neighboring influences. As evidenced in this striking Celt, carved in the form of a male figure, their highly stylized and abstract form of rendering resulted in a powerful image, one that instantly evokes spiritual magnetism and energy. The skilled abstraction of form, which highlights and accentuates only the essence of the object is reminiscent of Ancient Cycladic art of 4000 years ago as well as early twentieth-century art, and in fact served as inspiration for these early cubist and abstract artists. To hold this extraordinary stone carving is to touch a spirited work of art that transcends both time and space.   « Less

Mezcala Stone Standing Figure - PF.2346,Origin: Guerrero, Mexico,Circa: 300 BC to 100 BC,Dimensions: 5.125" (13.0cm) high,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style: Mezcala,Medium:  More »

Mezcala Stone Standing Figure - PF.2346,Origin: Guerrero, Mexico,Circa: 300 BC to 100 BC,Dimensions: 5.125" (13.0cm) high,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style: Mezcala,Medium: Stone. The people of Ancient Mezcala, a region in the central portion of the Mexican state of Guerrero, developed a unique art style based on the cult of the votive Celt, an axe used for hafting. Although the Mezcala culture probably sprang from the same roots as the ancient Olmec, their relative isolation in the mountain valleys resulted in a stone-centered artistic culture, which developed and flourished independent of neighboring influences. As evidenced in this striking celt, carved in the form of a male figure, their highly stylized and abstract form of rendering resulted in a powerful image, one that instantly evokes spiritual magnetism and energy. The skilled abstraction of form which highlights and accentuates only the essence of the object is reminiscent of ancient Cycladic art of 4000 years ago as well as early Twentieth-Century art, and in fact served to inspire these early cubist and abstract artists. The ancient utilitarian function of this carved figure can still be seen. This roughened edge on the head of the figure, when combined with the smooth polished finish of the face and body, gives a distinctive tactile quality to this ancient and spirited figure. To hold this extraordinary stone carving is to reach across time and space and capture the sensory spirit of the ancient culture that created it.   « Less

Mezcala Carved Stone Figure - PF.2347,Origin: Guerrero, Mexico,Circa: 300 BC to 100 BC,Dimensions: 7.125" (18.1cm) high,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style: Mezcala,Medium:  More »

Mezcala Carved Stone Figure - PF.2347,Origin: Guerrero, Mexico,Circa: 300 BC to 100 BC,Dimensions: 7.125" (18.1cm) high,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style: Mezcala,Medium: Stone. The ancient art of the people of Mezcala, a region in the central portion of the Mexican state of Guerrero, springs primarily from a profound mythical involvement with the magic meaning of stone axes. These Celts, axes used for hafting, were exquisitely carved into highly stylized human figures such as this spirited male. The talented Mezcala artists who created these dynamic ritual Celts developed a powerful expressive style of abstraction remarkably close to that of modern artists. In stone carvings such as this, a few deftly chiseled lines and shapes produce an abstracted human figure that clearly expresses all the powerful and essential elements of its being. Although the Ancient Mezcala people themselves remain a mystery, they reach out and share with us, through their extraordinary works of art, the timeless and Universal beauty of life's expression.   « Less