Maya Stucco Relief of Effigy Belt w/ Celts & Glyph

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Connoisseur's Delight Fine Art & Antiquities

By Artemis Gallery

Jun 27, 2024

Set Reminder 2024-06-27 11:00:00 2024-06-27 11:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Connoisseur's Delight Fine Art & Antiquities https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/connoisseurs-delight-fine-art-antiquities-16181
Classical antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art from cultures encompassing the globe. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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• Lot Description
  Pre-Columbian, Central America, Southern Mexico to Guatemala, Maya area, Late Classic Period, ca. 550 to 900 CE. A marvelous stucco relief fragment featuring the waist area and upper left thigh of a larger-than life stela of a standing figure. The figure wears a belt adorned with three Kan crosses and an effigy head at the center, likely of a lord as indicated by the twisted mat symbol below. Surmounted by a banded headdress, the lord presents heavy-lidded eyes, a strong, aquiline nose, and full lips held slightly parted. Beneath the mat motif hangs 3 shining celts, marked with mirror signs to represent their brightness. A flowery glyph is incised on the left thigh, possibly indicating the identity of the lord or the original site of the relief. Remains of Size: 9.5" L x 14.5" W x 15.7" H (24.1 cm x 36.8 cm x 39.9 cm); 20.4" H (51.8 cm) on included custom stand.
  
  A fundamental feature of Mesoamerican formal architecture was the use of molded, modeled, and carved stucco decoration. Painted either monochrome red or in a variety of colors, these facades narrated key precepts of religio-political ideology, displaying the supernatural patrons and worldly authority of the aristocracy that used the structures. The facade decoration also could reveal a building's function as well as its symbolic identity. This stucco relief fragment, which was part of a larger pictorial facade narrative, illustrates the close connection between the gods and Maya aristocracy.
  
  The Maya would often intentionally destroy a building's decorative facade and then collapse the vaulted chambers prior to constructing a new building atop the rubble. Frequently, the rubble contained fragments of the old stucco narrative now buried below the new platform. Most often it is the heads that survive in the debitage which suggests that the Maya paid particular attention to the faces of deities and royalty when they destroyed stucco facades during renovation projects. In addition, stucco facade heads have been found as offerings in tombs or other ritual caches placed inside buildings. Such special treatment indicates the prestige and likely perceived spiritual power of these stucco portraits among the Classic Period Maya.
  
  Provenance: private Littleton, Colorado, USA collection; ex-John R. Anderson, Kansas, USA, acquired in the 1970s to early 1980s; ex-Michelle Herling, Dallas, Texas, USA
  
  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.
  
  We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
  
  #186850

  Condition

  Fragment of a larger piece as shown. Chips, nicks, small losses, and fissures throughout as shown, all commensurate with age. Liberal remaining pigments and detail with rich earthen deposits throughout.
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