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Stone sculpture of an abstracted standing figure with carved facial features and arms at the torso.
Stone sculpture of an abstracted standing figure with carved facial features and arms at the torso.

About the Object

Mezcala-Chontal standing figures were created through carving and pecking stones such as green metadiorite seen here in order to fashion the human-like Mezcala features such as the folded arms and eyebrows along with the Chontal-like eyes, mouth, and triangular nose. Like other figures probably fashioned from celts, or stone hand axes, this object was probably believed to possess supernatural power associated with life and death.

 

Additional Information

While many objects such as these have been looted, those objects that have been found in excavation sites are usually elite burials. Additionally, Mezcala-Chontal objects have been found beneath the Mexica or Triple Alliance templo mayor (major temple) in their capital, Tenochtitlán, modern Mexico City. Throughout Mesoamerica, green stone was a treasured and sacred substance that was believed to be spiritually connected to fertility, rain, the cycles of life, and the production of food.

Private Collection, Arizona;
[Ron Messick Fine Arts, Santa Fe, NM];

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