1967.11 Standing Figure (Guerrero, Mexico, West Mexico, Mezcala style)

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Small carvings of human figures are a common sculptural theme among the various cultural groups of both Central and West Mexico. Lapidary artists favored a variety of precious materials for their small-scale sculptures, including alabaster, obsidian, jade, serpentine, and other varieties of greenstone. This is a fine example of stone carving from Late Formative (Late Preclassic) Guerrero. This region is known for a wide variety of sculptural styles from multiple cultural groups that inhabited this area of southwest Mexico. The most well-known Guerrero style is called Mezcala, primarily small-scale abstract stone sculptures depicting human figures, masks, and temple-like buildings. This example depicts a standing nude figure with folded hands resting on the abdomen. Though the facial features are indicated, any further costume details are absent. Typical of the Mezcala style, the figure appears simple and elementary in form, while also very modern in its abstraction and expression.

Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias identified the Mezcala lithic, or stone, art style in the 1940s. While the characteristic geometric forms of the figures and temples make them easy to recognize, placing them in time has been challenging, for none had been found in an archaeological context in Guerrero. In 1989, seven objects in the Mezcala style were found beneath the floors of residential complexes at Ahuinahuac, and associated materials have been securely dated to the Late Formative (Late Preclassic) period, between c. 500 and 200 BCE. Other objects in the style have since been found in context, at least one associated with material from the Late Classic period (c. 700–900 CE). Additional contextual information is needed to determine whether the presence of Mezcala-style objects in late contexts represents heirloom status, as it did in the Mezcala style objects found at the Templo Mayor at the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán, or a living sculptural tradition that persisted through centuries. The emphasis on stone sculpture in the Guerrero region also suggests an interaction with the Olmec peoples of the Gulf Coast, and many Olmec style objects have been found near this area.

Adapted from

Carol Robbins, Label text [1968.4; 1967.11; 1971.62; 1972.40; 1971.61], A. H. Meadows Galleries.
Gallery text [West Mexico], A. H. Meadows Galleries.

NOTES

Mezcala style, Late Formative period, 100 B.C.E.–200 C.E. (noted on TMS), updated by KJones on 06/19/14.

Catalogue essays

Miguel Covarrubias (1904-1957)

Artist/designers

Cultures

West Mexico (West Coast Mesoamerican Style)

Pre-Columbian (American): AAT: 300016619

Mezcala (West Coast Mesoamerican styles / Guerrero): AAT: 300017193

West Coast Mesoamerican styles: AAT: 300017196

Geography

Mesoamerica

Mexico (nation): TGN: 7005560

Guerrero (state/Mexico): TGN: 7005585

Mezcala (inhabited place / Mexcala): TGN: 1017856

Balsas (inhabited place): TGN: 7351418

Río Balsas (stream): TGN: 7404865

Río Balsas (river): TGN: 1121636

Process/materials

West Mexico Carving (West Coast Mesoamerican Style)

greenstone (rock): AAT: 300386691

carving: AAT: 300053149

incising: AAT: 300053847

polishing (finishing): AAT: 300053867

Historical periods

Formative Period (Preclassic): AAT: 300016973

Preclassic (Archaic / Formative / Mesoamerican period): AAT: 300016967

Late Preclassic Period (Formative): AAT: 300016976

Individuals

Subject terms

sculpture: AAT: 300047090

ritual objects: AAT: 300312158

human figures: AAT: 300404114

figures (representations): AAT: 300189808

standing: AAT: 300239500

pose: AAT: 300067390

nude: AAT: 300189568

faces (animal or human components): AAT: 300251798

face: DMA

nose: DMA

mouth: DMA

Covarrubias_Miguel: ULAN: 500122721

geometric abstraction: AAT: 300056509

geometric shape: AAT: 300263819

buildings (structures): AAT: 300004792

dwellings (residential structures): AAT: 300005425

Ahuinahuac (deserted settlement / Mexico): DMA

Templo Mayor (historic structure): TGN: 7032716

Tenochtitlán (Mexico City): TGN: 7007227

Olmec: AAT: 300017051

abstract: AAT: 300108127

abstraction: AAT: 300056508

green (color): AAT: 300128438

RELATED OBJECTS

PROVENANCE

n.d.: Mr. and Mrs. Miles J. Lourie, New York [1], [2]

Until 1967: Everett Rassiga, Inc. (Everett Rassiga), New York [1], [2]

From 1967: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, The Art Museum League Fund, purchased from the above [1], [2], [3]

[1] The main source for this provenance is Collections Record Form (n.d., copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.

[2] The main source for this provenance is invoice from Everett Rassiga, Inc. (dated June 09, 1967, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.

[3] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

AUDIO ASSETS

VIDEO ASSETS

IMAGE ASSETS

WEB RESOURCES

ARCHIVAL RESOURCES

FUN FACTS

TEACHING IDEAS

RULES

Apply to objects where number equals 1967.11

General Description

Small carvings of human figures are a common sculptural theme among the various cultural groups of both Central and West Mexico. Lapidary artists favored a variety of precious materials for their small-scale sculptures, including alabaster, obsidian, jade, serpentine, and other varieties of greenstone. This is a fine example of stone carving from Late Formative (Late Preclassic) Guerrero. This region is known for a wide variety of sculptural styles from multiple cultural groups that inhabited this area of southwest Mexico. The most well-known Guerrero style is called Mezcala, primarily small-scale abstract stone sculptures depicting human figures, masks, and temple-like buildings. This example depicts a standing nude figure with folded hands resting on the abdomen. Though the facial features are indicated, any further costume details are absent. Typical of the Mezcala style, the figure appears simple and elementary in form, while also very modern in its abstraction and expression.

Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias identified the Mezcala lithic, or stone, art style in the 1940s. While the characteristic geometric forms of the figures and temples make them easy to recognize, placing them in time has been challenging, for none had been found in an archaeological context in Guerrero. In 1989, seven objects in the Mezcala style were found beneath the floors of residential complexes at Ahuinahuac, and associated materials have been securely dated to the Late Formative (Late Preclassic) period, between c. 500 and 200 BCE. Other objects in the style have since been found in context, at least one associated with material from the Late Classic period (c. 700–900 CE). Additional contextual information is needed to determine whether the presence of Mezcala-style objects in late contexts represents heirloom status, as it did in the Mezcala style objects found at the Templo Mayor at the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán, or a living sculptural tradition that persisted through centuries. The emphasis on stone sculpture in the Guerrero region also suggests an interaction with the Olmec peoples of the Gulf Coast, and many Olmec style objects have been found near this area.