Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Guerrero region, Mezcala, ca. 400 to 100 BCE. An abstract anthropomorphic figure carved by hand from a porous, dark-brown volcanic stone. The tall figure stands atop delineated legs which taper to a rounded point - hence the name "axe god" - and holds a pair of slender arms tightly against its rounded chest. A large ovoid head rests atop a squat neck and exhibits recessed eyes, a petite mouth, and a plateaued brow, all beneath a tapered crest with grooved sides. Traces of applied white pigmentation remain along some of the string-cut grooves and suggest this figure was covered in bright colors at one time. Custom museum-quality display stand included. Size: 2.25" W x 8.125" H (5.7 cm x 20.6 cm); 8.375" H (21.3 cm) on included custom stand.

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 simple, eloquent 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.

Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-Berg Estate, La Mesa, California, USA, originally collected by former San Diego University anthropology professor Bob Berg in the 1960s. A few of his pieces are documented in the "Who's Who in Indian Relics" series, #10.

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#137537

One leg reattached with small chips and light adhesive residue along break lines. Surface wear and abrasions commensurate with age, fading to some carved features, small nicks to legs, body, and head, and light roughness across most surfaces. Light earthen deposits throughout. Nice traces of pigmentation in some areas. Old inventory label beneath base.