THIS IS AN AUTHENTIC, ANCIENT (500-100 BCE) PRE-COLUMBIAN, MESOAMERICAN, GUERRERO MEZCALA "JADE AXE GOD" IDOL FIGURE. AS WAS COMMON DURING THAT PERIOD AND CULTURE, IT IS CARVED FROM A SPECKLED GREEN SERPENTINE STONE. REFERRED TO AS AN "AXE GOD", IT IS AN ABSTRACT, MINIMALISTIC ANTHROPOMORPHIC FIGURE IN THE FORM OF A STANDING IDOL. THESE FIGIRES WERE USED AS OFFERINGS TO THE GODS BY THE MEZCALA CULTURE OF THE PERIOD.
(ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING THE MEZCALA CULTURE IN GENERAL IS INCLUDED AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS LISTING)
IT MEASURES APPROXIMATELY:
HEIGHT: 4"
WIDTH: 2"
WEIGHT: 8.1 OUNCES
PROVENANCE: A MANHATTAN, NY ESTATE. EX-SOTHEBY'S AUCTION (ITEM # 278)
SATISFACTION GUARANTEED OR FULL REFUND
Condition: SOME AGE WEAR TO FORM, APPROPRIATE WITH ITS AGE. OTHERWISE INTACT AND EXCELLENT WITH SMOOTH SURFACES. PLEASE NOTE: THE PHOTOS PROVIDED IN THIS LISTING ARE CONSIDERED PART OF OUR CONDITION REPORT. PLEASE EVALUATE THEM CAREFULLY PRIOR TO BIDDING.
Approximate Dimensions: SEE ABOVE
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (WIKI):
The Mezcala
culture (sometimes referred to as the Balsas culture) is
the name given to a Mesoamerican culture
that was based in the Guerrero state of
southwestern Mexico,[1] in the upper Balsas River region.[2] The culture is poorly understood but is believed to
have developed during the Middle and Late Preclassic periods of Mesoamerican
chronology,[1] between 700 and 200 BC.[2] The culture continued into the Classic period
(c.250-650 AD) when it coexisted with the great metropolis of Teotihuacan.[3]
Archaeologists
have studied the culture through limited controlled excavations, the
examination of looted artifacts, and the study of Mezcala sculptures found as
dedicatory offerings at the Aztec complex of Tenochtitlan.
archaeological excavations
The Mezcala cultural region has been
heavily looted by the local population, as these items have proven desirable on
the art market.[4] In terms of
archaeological resources, the present-day state of Guerrero has not seen extensive
professional excavations; prehistoric cultures found there are among the least
understood in Mexico.[1] Only one
Preclassic Mezcala site, Ahuinahuac,
has been investigated by archaeologists undertaking controlled excavations.[2] Excavations of
Classic period Mezcala sites have taken place at Organera Xochipala and El
Mirador.[5] The sculptural
style of the Mezcala culture is largely known from looted andesite and serpentine artifacts.[1]
History
Based on excavations in Guerrero,
examination of looted artifacts, and excavation of Mezcala artifacts at
Teotihuacan, archaeologists have given the name "Mezcala culture" to
a Mesoamerican culture that was based in
the present-day Guerrero state of
southwestern Mexico,[1] in the upper Balsas River region.[2] Archaeologists
believe that the culture developed during the Middle and Late Preclassic
periods of Mesoamerican
chronology,[1] between 700 and
200 BC.[2] and continued into
the Classic period (c.250-650 AD). At this time, the great metropolis of Teotihuacan developed to the north in
the Valley of Mexico.[3]
In the Mezcala area, Teotihuacan
influence is pervasive. At the same time, there was also considerable influence
going the other way, from the Mezcala area to Teotihuacan.[6]
Anthropologists characterized the western
societies as chiefdoms, at a time
when states rose in Central Mexico. Unlike other areas of western Mexico, the
Guerrero tradition in ceramics and site planning shows influence from Central
Mexico. For instance, settlements along the Balsas River had pyramids,
central plazas and ball courts.[7]
The later Aztecs apparently
excavated Mezcala sculptures and valued them, since the works have been found
among the dedicatory offerings excavated at the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan,[8] built in the 14th
and 15th centuries. These included over fifty-six masks and ninety-eight
figurines.[9] Twenty-six of the figurines
were divided equally between two stone boxes and arranged in south-facing rows.[10]
Sculpture
Mezcala-style sculpture is
characterised by abstract facial features, suggested by lines and differences
in texture.[3] The sculptural
style of the Mezcala culture may have been influenced by the Olmecs.
In turn, it may have influenced the development of sculpture at the
Classic-period metropolis of Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexico.[1]