Large Guerrero Mezcala Type M-22 Stone Axe God Figure

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Exceptional Antiquities, Asian, Ethnographic

By Artemis Gallery

Feb 13, 2020

Set Reminder 2020-02-13 10:00:00 2020-02-13 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Antiquities, Asian, Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-antiquities-asian-ethnographic-4848
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, southern Mexico, Guerrero region, Mezcala culture, ca. 400 to 100 BCE. A huge example of an axe god figure of a Type M-22 variant presenting characteristically abstract anthropomorphic characteristics, hand-carved from coarse grey-hued stone with faint beige and dark-grey veining. The stylized figure stands with delineated, string-cut legs, holds both arms atop the waist, has a lightly rounded chest with angular shoulders, and a broad neck that supports the bulbous head. The minimalist visage exhibits string-cut grooves denoting the eyes, brows, nasolabial folds, ears, and mouth, and the rounded forehead bulges out from the top. Some of the grooves on the brows, ears, body, and legs bear encrusted traces of red-orange pigment that suggests this figure was at one time painted with vibrant pigmentation. Size: 5.75" W x 12.7" H (14.6 cm x 32.3 cm); 13" H (33 cm) on included custom stand.
  
  This particular Mezcala axe god exhibits features characteristic of M-22/M-24 Mezcala figures. The Mezcala style underwent a gradual evolutionary process, and M-22/M-24 were among the most advanced of the Mezcala types. The Mezcala sculptors brilliantly used string-saw technology to differentiate facial features and limbs. The ancient artisans of this region were particularly adept at reducing the human body to eloquent, minimalist forms via this string cut technique. The result ironically appeals to a modernist taste for minimalism. Mezcala sculptural works are equally appealing for the inherent beauty of the stone selected by the ancients.
  
  For a couple of stylistically similar examples of the M-22 type, please see: Gay, Carlo and Frances Pratt. "Mezcala: Ancient Stone Sculpture from Guerrero Mexico." Balsas Publications, Geneva, 1992, p. 89, plate 74 and p. 91, plate 76.
  
  Provenance: Howard Rose Gallery, New York, USA; ex-private Florida, USA collection; ex-Barry Kernerman collection, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; ex-Samuel Dubiner collection, Tel Aviv, Israel, acquired in the 1960s
  
  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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  #153076

  Condition

  Minor nicks and abrasions to legs, arms, body, and head, with light encrustations, softening to some finer details, and chipping and fading to original pigmentation, otherwise intact and excellent. Light earthen deposits and traces of original pigment throughout.
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