Home > Art > Small Chontal Standing Figure with Pecked Features
A standing green stone figure with arms crossed and small, hollow facial features.
A standing green stone figure with arms crossed and small, hollow facial features.

About the Object

The relatively small Chontal standing figure seen here was created from mottled dark green diorite stone. It has been worked with pecking to create the hollowed-out eyes, shaped nose, arms, and legs, and is likely fashioned from a celt, or stone hand axe.

 

Additional Information

There is evidence that the Mezcala-Chontal traded with the Olmec culture centered on the Bay of Campeche in the Gulf of Mexico. While this object has not been definitively dated, it was most likely created between 700 BCE and 400 BCE, and perhaps as late as 250 CE.

Spencer Throckmorton Collection, New York, NY;
Gift to The Jan T. and Marica Vilcek Collection, 1995;

Related Objects

Classic Zacatecas Standing Female Figure

300-100 BCE Unknown Artist
Abstract sculpture representing a female figure standing upright with hands resting on hips.

Small Chontal Head Pendant with “Buds”

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.

Olmec Standing Figure with Cleft Holding Celt

1100-500 BCE Unknown Artist
Standing stone figure of a man with stylized geometric facial features, almond-shaped eyes and rounded body parts.

Early Classic Mayan Plaque with Incised Dignitary Figure (Likely Carved from Older Olmec Celt)

250-450 CE Unknown Artist
Jade green plaque with incised images of Mayan dignitary figures.

Mayan Pendant Carved with Seated Dignitary III (Nebaj Style), Late Classic Period

550-950 CE Unknown Artist
Light green stone pendant with a carving of a dignitary shown in profile, seated cross-legged, his body facing forward, wearing an elaborate headdress.

Mezcala Figure (M-8 Type)

2800-1200 BCE Unknown Artist
Abstract stone figure with vertical cuts to represent facial features, arms, legs, and prominent eyebrows.

Costa Rican Shaman Figure Pendant with Raised Arms and Hole Carved in Chest

600-900 CE Unknown Artist
Pendant of a figure with both hands on their head and a large round hole in the chest.

Seated Teotihuacan Goddess of Fertility Wearing a Headdress of Quetzal Feathers

250-450 CE (Early Tlamimlolpa Micaotli-Early Xolapan Periods) Unknown Artist
Seated stone figure with an elaborate headdress, garment, and ear spools.

Mezcala-Chontal Standing Figure

Unknown Unknown Artist
Standing stone figure with pecked round eyes, humanistic facial features, and arms folded across the abdomen.

Mezcala-Chontal Standing Figure (M-14 Type)

1800-1200 BCE Unknown Artist
Brown stone figure with geometric cuts and hollows indicating physical and facial features.

You may also be interested in

2021 Vilcek Prize

Rodrigo Prieto

Rodrigo Prieto receives the Vilcek Prize in Filmmaking for his virtuosity and versatility—the sheer excellence and inventiveness of his work across styles and genres—and his central role in creating some of contemporary cinema’s most indelible works.
Black and white portrait of Rodrigo Prieto wearing a black shirt.
2021 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise

Juan Pablo González

Juan Pablo González receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Filmmaking for the artistic rigor and deep emotional engagement that he brings to his immersive and intimate explorations of his hometown in rural Mexico.
Juan Pablo González in a gray shirt sitting outdoors.
2019 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise

Fabián von Hauske Valtierra

Fabián Von Hauske Valtierra receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Culinary Arts for combining diverse, international culinary influences into a singular voice that is ambitious, experimental, and accessible.
Portrait of Fabian von Hauske Valtierra