Mixtec Stone Penate Figures - Group of Three Amulets
Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Mixtec culture, ca. 1200–1521 CE. A group of three Mixtec carved stone pendant figures with schematic incised features, including brow lines, sunken eyes, and arms drawn across the body, with notches at the sides and drilled perforations for suspension. The group includes a green stone example, a tan example, and a smaller mottled grey example. Small figures of this kind, known as penates, were carried as personal amulets and placed in burials and household shrines throughout the Mixteca region. Size: 2.3" H x 1" W x 0.75" D (5.8 cm H x 2.5 cm W x 1.9 cm D).
The Mixtec, whose name derives from the Nahuatl for "cloud people," dominated the highlands of Oaxaca and the Mixteca region during the Postclassic period, producing some of Mesoamerica's most refined lapidary work, gold, and painted codices. Penates take their scholarly name from early Spanish observers who likened these portable stone effigies to the penates, the tutelary household deities of ancient Rome. Compact and easily carried, they blurred the boundary between amulet and idol, accompanying individuals through life and into burial, and standing watch over hearth and family shrine.
Provenance: private Missoula, Montana, USA collection, by inheritance; ex-private Owens collection, Colorado, USA, assembled 1950s to 1960s
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
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 #203822
Condition
Chips and small losses to the largest figure. Losses to the suspension holes on the verso of the the 2 smaller figures.
Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Mixtec culture, ca. 1200–1521 CE. A group of three Mixtec carved stone pendant figures with schematic incised features, including brow lines, sunken eyes, and arms drawn across the body, with notches at the sides and drilled perforations for suspension. The group includes a green stone example, a tan example, and a smaller mottled grey example. Small figures of this kind, known as penates, were carried as personal amulets and placed in burials and household shrines throughout the Mixteca region. Size: 2.3" H x 1" W x 0.75" D (5.8 cm H x 2.5 cm W x 1.9 cm D).
The Mixtec, whose name derives from the Nahuatl for "cloud people," dominated the highlands of Oaxaca and the Mixteca region during the Postclassic period, producing some of Mesoamerica's most refined lapidary work, gold, and painted codices. Penates take their scholarly name from early Spanish observers who likened these portable stone effigies to the penates, the tutelary household deities of ancient Rome. Compact and easily carried, they blurred the boundary between amulet and idol, accompanying individuals through life and into burial, and standing watch over hearth and family shrine.
Provenance: private Missoula, Montana, USA collection, by inheritance; ex-private Owens collection, Colorado, USA, assembled 1950s to 1960s
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
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 #203822
Condition
Chips and small losses to the largest figure. Losses to the suspension holes on the verso of the the 2 smaller figures.
