Mezcala Stone Idol

The people of Ancient Mezcala, a region in the central portion of the Mexican state of Guerrero, developed a unique art style based on the cult of the votive Celt, an axe used for hafting. Although the Mezcala culture probably sprang from the same roots as the ancient Olmec, their relative isolation in the mountain valleys resulted in a stone-centered artistic culture, which developed and flourished independent of neighboring influences. As evidenced in this striking celt, carved in the form of a male figure, their highly stylized and abstract form of rendering resulted in a powerful image, one that instantly evokes spiritual magnetism and energy. The skilled abstraction of form which highlights and accentuates only the essence of the object is reminiscent of ancient Cycladic art of 4000 years ago as well as early Twentieth-Century art, and in fact served to inspire these early cubist and abstract artists.