MEZCALA, Guerrero region, Mexico, 400 - 100 B.C. - Lot 117

MEZCALA, Guerrero region, Mexico, 400 - 100 B.C. Idol depicting a character with stylized, extremely refined features. The eyes are marked by deep incisions. Carved and polished hard stone 15.8 cm X 5.2 cm Provenance : Former W . S collection, Los Angeles. Artemis Gallery, 11,02,2018. Collection of Professor Kenneth Graham. These figures, often carved in hard stone, reflect the unique and timeless aesthetic of pre-Classical Mesoamerican cultures, where art was intimately linked to spiritual and ritual beliefs. These idols were used in religious contexts, probably as representations of ancestors, deities or protective figures. Their refined style, reduced to essential lines and balanced volumes, reflects a quest for universality and spiritual permanence. Mezcala sculptures also testify to the technical mastery of the craftsmen of the period, capable of working extremely hard materials to create objects of great symbolic and aesthetic intensity. Expert : Serge REYNES