Mezcala Balsas River Idol, Carved Serpentine, Aztec Cache Type
Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Guerrero, Mezcala, 400 BCE. A standing anthropomorphic idol reduced to planes and edges, carved from deep greenish-black serpentine and polished to a soft sheen. The blocky head carries heavy arched brows above lidded eyes, an angular nose, a firm slit mouth, and squared tab ears set flush to the jaw. Arms fold across the waist in low relief, the torso a smooth rectangular slab, the legs divided by a single narrow slot cut from the hem. String-sawn grooves and pecked detail betray the abrasive technique used to work this hard stone without metal tools. Figures of this type, worked in the small scale of this example, were likely offerings, placed in caves, burials, and later Aztec ritual caches. Mounted on a custom lucite base. Size: 2" W x 5.75" H (5.1 cm W x 14.6 cm H).
The Mezcala tradition takes its name from the Mezcala (Balsas) river drainage of Guerrero, where hard green stones were shaped into severe, geometric human figures, masks, and miniature temple models. Lacking metal tools, carvers relied on string-sawing, drilling, and abrasion with harder stone and sand, a process that produced the flat facets, incised slots, and sharply defined planes that define the style and that anticipate the reductive modernism twentieth-century collectors admired in it.
The tradition's afterlife is unusually well documented: Mezcala figures were excavated by the Mexica centuries after their manufacture and redeposited as offerings in the Templo Mayor at Tenochtitlan, evidence that the Aztecs regarded these austere ancestral effigies as potent antiquities in their own right.
Provenance: NYC. collection; Ex. Edward H. Merrin Gallery, Inc., NYC., 1980’s.
SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700.
PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.
Item #
73011
Condition
Overall excellent ancient surface patina with root marks and surface deposits. Intact, excellent condition.
Buyer's Premium
30%
Sale price
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Guerrero, Mezcala, 400 BCE. A standing anthropomorphic idol reduced to planes and edges, carved from deep greenish-black serpentine and polished to a soft sheen. The blocky head carries heavy arched brows above lidded eyes, an angular nose, a firm slit mouth, and squared tab ears set flush to the jaw. Arms fold across the waist in low relief, the torso a smooth rectangular slab, the legs divided by a single narrow slot cut from the hem. String-sawn grooves and pecked detail betray the abrasive technique used to work this hard stone without metal tools. Figures of this type, worked in the small scale of this example, were likely offerings, placed in caves, burials, and later Aztec ritual caches. Mounted on a custom lucite base. Size: 2" W x 5.75" H (5.1 cm W x 14.6 cm H).
The Mezcala tradition takes its name from the Mezcala (Balsas) river drainage of Guerrero, where hard green stones were shaped into severe, geometric human figures, masks, and miniature temple models. Lacking metal tools, carvers relied on string-sawing, drilling, and abrasion with harder stone and sand, a process that produced the flat facets, incised slots, and sharply defined planes that define the style and that anticipate the reductive modernism twentieth-century collectors admired in it.
The tradition's afterlife is unusually well documented: Mezcala figures were excavated by the Mexica centuries after their manufacture and redeposited as offerings in the Templo Mayor at Tenochtitlan, evidence that the Aztecs regarded these austere ancestral effigies as potent antiquities in their own right.
Provenance: NYC. collection; Ex. Edward H. Merrin Gallery, Inc., NYC., 1980’s.
SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700.
PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.
Item #
73011
Condition
Overall excellent ancient surface patina with root marks and surface deposits. Intact, excellent condition.
Buyer's Premium
30%
Sale price
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
