Skip to main content
Close
Vilcek Foundation
  • About
    • About

      The Vilcek Foundation raises awareness of immigrant contributions in the United States and fosters appreciation of the arts and sciences.

    • Our Mission
    • Board & Staff
    • Press Center
    • Contact
  • Prizes
    • Prizes

      The Vilcek Foundation Prizes are awarded to foreign-born individuals for extraordinary achievement in the arts and sciences.

    • About the Prizes

      Learn more about the Vilcek Foundation Prizes and the prizewinners.

    • Vilcek Prizes

      Awarded to immigrants with a legacy of major accomplishments.

    • Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise

      Awarded to young immigrant professionals who have demonstrated outstanding achievement early in their careers.

    • Vilcek Prize for Excellence

      Awarded to immigrants who have had a significant impact on American society, or to individuals who are dedicated champions of immigrant causes.

    • Prize Recipients
    • Grants for Organizations
  • Art
  • Events
  • News
Sign Up Search
Home > Art > Mezcala Temple

Mezcala Temple

Stone sculpture of a four column temple with a staircase and rounded architrave.
Artist

Unknown Artist

Date

200 BCE–500 CE

Medium

Unidentified mottled green stone (possibly jade)

Object Type

Sculpture

Dimensions

H- 4 1/2 x W- 2 1/4 x D- 3/4 in. (11.4 x 5.7 x 1.9 cm)

Collecting Area

Pre-Columbian

Credit Line

The Jan T. and Marica Vilcek Collection

Accession Number

2007.04.1

Copyright

© The Vilcek Foundation

Tags
architecture mexico Mezcala stone Temple
Share this page
Twitter Facebook LinkedIn
Stone sculpture of a four column temple with a staircase and rounded architrave.

About the Object

Polished and expertly carved from a mottled green stone, perhaps jade, the unknown Mezcala artist(s) fashioned what scholars today call a temple or architectural model. It has three stairs leading up to a platform with four columns cut through the stone. A second platform, capped with a rounded top, rests upon the columns. This was likely associated with ideas of fertility, the cycle of life and death, and rituals associated with rainfall.

 

Additional Information

Originating in what is today the western Mexican state of Guerrero, the Mezcala tradition is best-known for its abstract human and architectural figures, some of which may also be linked to everyday uses. For instance, the stones carved from between the columns or other “debris” cast off from fashioning these objects could be shaped into arrowheads or other tools.

[Throckmorton Fine Art, New York, NY];

Tags
architecture mexico Mezcala stone Temple
Share this page
Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Related Objects

Mezcala Temple

200 BCE–500 CE Unknown Artist
Sculpture of a four column temple with a reclining figure on the top and a staircase carved into the base.

Mezcala Temple

200 BCE–500 CE Unknown Artist
Three dimensional temple sculpture with four revolving columns.

Mezcala Temple

200 BCE–500 CE Unknown Artist
Stone sculpture of two columns joined by a set of stairs leading forward.

Mezcala Temple

200 BCE–500 CE Unknown Artist
Sculpture of four columns with a recumbent figure on top and a staircase on the base.

Mezcala Standing Figure

Unknown Unknown Artist
Small abstract stone carving of a standing human figure.

Mezcala Standing Figure

Unknown Unknown Artist
Small, abstract stone carving of a standing human figure with broad, pointed facial features and folded hands upon its round abdomen.

Mezcala Standing Figure

300-100 BCE Unknown Artist
Abstract standing figure with indented facial features and pointed nose, arms at the side and folded at the ribs.

Mezcala-Chontal Standing Figure

1000 BCE-1000 CE Unknown Artist
Stone sculpture of an abstracted standing figure with carved facial features and arms at the torso.

Chontal Head Pendant

c. 400 BCE Unknown Artist
Two protruding tube-like ears atop a human head carved from stone with abstract facial features defined by vertical cuts.

Mezcala Standing Figure

1800-1200 BCE Unknown Artist
Abstract standing figure with rounded features, carved from stone.

You may also be interested in

Juan Pablo Contreras

Juan Pablo Contreras receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Music for his work as a composer and conductor of orchestral music that draws on his Mexican heritage, and for his leadership in founding the Orquesta Latino Mexicana.
Portrait of Juan Pablo Contreras.
May 4, 2021

Vilcek Foundation receives 2021 AIA Interior Architecture Award

The Vilcek Foundation headquarters, designed by ARO, are honored for outstanding interior architecture and design.
The first floor gallery space within the Vilcek Foundation NYC headquarters.
March 15, 2021

Rodrigo Prieto: “Being a foreigner gives you a certain perspective”

Rodrigo Prieto receives the Vilcek Prize in Filmmaking for his emotionally riveting and technically masterful cinematography.
Rodrigo Prieto in a white button-down framed by set lights.

Join our mailing list

Sign Up
Vilcek Foundation
21 East 70th Street
New York, New York 10021

Phone: 212.472.2500

Email: info@vilcek.org

  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Board and Staff
    • Press Center
    • Contact
  • Prizes
    • Vilcek Prizes
    • Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise
    • Vilcek Prize for Excellence
    • Prize Recipients
    • Grants for Organizations
  • Art
  • Events
  • News
  • Careers
Connect with us
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Youtube
  • Vimeo
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility Statement
© 2023   Vilcek Foundation