**First Time At Auction**

Pre-Columbian, Valley of Mexico, Teotihuacan or Tecali culture, Late Preclassic Period, ca. 300 to 100 BCE. An intriguing example of a petite figure that is hand-carved from translucent calcite of a creamy honey-yellow hue. The attenuated figure stands upon narrow legs delineated with string-cut grooves and grasps a narrow olla tightly in both hands. A shallow groove crossing over top the chest suggests the figure is wearing a padded tunic or cuirass beneath angular shoulders, perhaps an indication of being a warrior or a priest. The tall, trapezoidal head bears recessed horizontal eyes, a bulbous triangular nose above pouty lips, smooth cheeks, and a broad chin, all beneath a hat that rests low on the forehead. A biconically drilled suspension hole is situated behind the brow and indicates that this figure was perhaps worn on a necklace strand as an anthropomorphic pendant. Size: 1.1" W x 2.7" H (2.8 cm x 6.9 cm); 2.8" H (7.1 cm) on included custom stand.

Teotihuacan was at one time the largest city in the Pre-Columbian world, famous for its pyramids (Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon) as well as the Great Compound with the Temple of Quetzalcoatl (aka Temple of the Plumed Serpent) punctuating the Avenue of the Dead. Stone figures like this example are perhaps the best known works of Teotihuacan art. Examples like this figure from Teotihuacan often have idealized features (rather than individual depictions) and calm expressions, with simple lines used economically in order to create powerful effigies without an overuse of detail.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-Veracruzana Gallery, New York, New York, USA, 1960s

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#164532

One stable hairline fissure behind head, with light encrustations within suspension hole and some recessed areas, and minor abrasions across obverse and verso, otherwise intact and excellent. Nice surface smoothness and light earthen deposits throughout.