Pre-Columbian, Central America, Costa Rica, Atlantic Watershed region, Late Period V, ca. 700 to 1000 CE. A finely detailed figure of a standing male, hand-carved from a single piece of porous, gray-brown basalt, displaying stylized anatomy and physiognomy. The figure presents nude standing atop broad feet with protruding knees, his phallus exposed, and wears a broad belt adorned with incised linear and geometric motifs. Semicircular panels indicative of pectoral musculature accentuate his chest along with petite nipples, and he holds both arms out to his sides from powerful shoulders. His enlarged head exhibits slit-form eyes, a slender nose with sizable nostrils, tab-shaped ears with perforations meant to hold ornamentation, and a thick brow, all beneath a backswept, vertically striated coiffure. Size: 10.375" W x 17.7" H (26.4 cm x 45 cm); 18.6" H (47.2 cm) on included custom stand.
A similar example depicting a prisoner hammered for $9,375 at Sotheby's, New York "Atlantic, Oceanic and Pre-Columbian Art" auction (May 14, 2010, lot 29).
Provenance: private Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA collection
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#167309
Condition
Repairs to both legs at knees, with small chips and light adhesive residue along break lines. Losses to front of proper right foot, left forearm below elbow, and right arm below shoulder. Chips to phallus, abdomen, one shoulder, and face, with softening to some finer details, and light encrustations in scattered areas. Nice preservation to overall form and facial details. Drilled through bottoms of feet for mounting and display purposes.