Mezcala Stone Amulet of a Standing Figure

Recovered from dedicatory caches in Guerrero, this sculpture of a human figure is a mysterious artistic product of Mezcala culture's obsessive votive Celt cult. Mezcala was a stone-centered culture that is considered as pre-Olmec. The sculptors of this period carved their votive offerings out of hard stones such as andesite and serpentine. This sculpture of a human figure is smoothly carved out of beautiful green stone. The figure is carved with a bold simplicity that distinctly defines the face and body. Although ancient, its minimal quality evokes a sense of modern abstraction that heightens the sculpture's artistic quality. Mezcala sculptors were driven by the impact of sheer physical necessity and produced the stone carvings for their obsessive rituals in mass quantity. Though produced in great quantity, the sculptors carved the hard, unyielding stone with absolute sureness and special sculptural sensitivity. Each mark, each indentation is a precious outcome of earnest carving that describes the features of the figure.

As if he had evolved from the stone itself, this powerful little figure seems at one with nature. The ancient culture that created him to please their gods must have felt a great kinship with the earth. He radiates an energy far older than any civilization.