Rare Olmecoid / Chontal Stone Figure

Lot 78d

About Seller

686 S Taylor Ave, Ste 106
Louisville, CO 80027
United States

Selling antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art online since 1993, Artemis Gallery specializes in Classical Antiquities (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern), Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal / Oceanographic art. Our extensive inventory includes pottery, stone, metal, wood, glass and textil...Read more

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About Auction

DAY 2 : Pre-Columbian, Ethnographic & Fine Art by Artemis Gallery

Live

DAY 2 : Pre-Columbian, Ethnographic & Fine Ar...

By Artemis Gallery

Dec 6, 2018

Set Reminder 2018-12-06 10:00:00 2018-12-06 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : DAY 2 : Pre-Columbian, Ethnographic & Fine Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/day-2-pre-columbian-ethnographic-fine-art-3699 Day 2 of an important 2-dy auction featuring ancient and ethnographic art from around the world. Today's sale will feature Pre-Columbian, Native American, African / Tribal, Ethnographic, Spanish Colonial, Fine Art, much more. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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Lot Description

Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Guerrero region, Chontal, ca. 800 to 300 BCE. A fine figure, skillfully carved from a smooth, mottled brown stone with light and dark inclusions, showing very strong Olmec characteristics, but clearly Chontal from the Guerrero region. The figure is depicted seated with bent legs and touching feet, bent arms with hands meeting over the broad chest, sloping shoulders, and a rigid back. The characteristically elongated head presents bold features such as slit-form eyes, a triangular nose, full lips, and bar-shaped ears flush with the lateral sides. Custom museum-quality display stand included. Size: 1.3" W x 2.5" H (3.3 cm x 6.4 cm); 2.7" H (6.9 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 fifteenth-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.

Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-private lifetime collection of Dr. Saul Tuttman and Dr. Gregory Siskind, New York, New York, USA; ex-Art for Eternity, New York, New York, 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.

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#137893

Condition

Minor nicks and abrasions to base, body, and head, with light softening to some finer details, otherwise intact and excellent. Light earthen deposits throughout.
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