Fine Chontal Greenstone Mask, ex-Bellak

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Exceptional Antiquities, Asian, Ethnographic

By Artemis Gallery

Feb 21, 2019

Set Reminder 2019-02-21 10:00:00 2019-02-21 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Antiquities, Asian, Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-antiquities-asian-ethnographic-3858
An important one-day auction featuring museum-worthy examples of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Etruscan, Near Eastern, Far East / Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal, Oceanic, Native American, Spanish Colonial, Russian, Fossils, Ancient Jewelry, Fine Art, so much more! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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• Lot Description
  Pre-Columbian, Central Mexico, Guerrero region, Chontal, Late Preclassic period, ca. 300 to 100 BCE. A gorgeous face mask of an oblong rectangular form, hand-carved from a mottled green stone with white, black, and beige inclusions. The stylized visage displays minimalist features such as carved-out ovoid eyes beneath heavy brows, a perky, slightly-crooked nose, rounded cheeks, a curved chin, and puffy lips, all beneath a tall, rounded forehead. Each corner of the mask bears traces of a biconically-drilled suspension hole which allowed it to be fastened to the face of a deceased individual, with one lower corner still exhibiting the entire hole. Custom museum-quality display stand included. Size: 4.25" W x 4.875" H (10.8 cm x 12.4 cm); 6.75" H (17.1 cm) on included custom stand.
  
  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. Although their stonework stems from the Preclassic period, ca. 300 to 100 BCE, later Mesoamerican peoples clearly cherished Chontal portable sculptures as heirlooms. Chontal creations have been unearthed in ritual caches at Templo Mayor, the principle temple of the 15th century Aztecs of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City).
  
  What's more, legendary 20th century modernists such as Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, and Miguel Covarrubias appreciated the minimalist qualities of Chontal art. Covarrubias went so far as to compare it to the Cycladic style of ancient Greece. Scholars believe that such masks as this example were tied to funerary bundles of the noble elite; however, smaller scale masks suggest they may have been attached to clothing.
  
  A slightly-larger and stylistically-similar example hammered for $31,070 at Christie's, New York "Important Pre-Columbian Art: A European Private Collection" Auction (sale 1537, November 12, 2004, lot 26): https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/a-chontal-stone-mask-late-preclassic-ca-4384403-details.aspx
  
  Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-collection of Mr. Richard Bellak, New York, New York, USA. Mr Bellak was a Pre-Columbian & Tribal arts dealer from the 1960s to late 1990s
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
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  #143365

  Condition

  Small losses to three corners, with light abrasions to face, verso, and peripheries, and light encrustations within some recessed areas. Light earthen deposits throughout. Old inventory label on verso.
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