Costa Rica, Atlantic Watershed Zone
Circa 1300 AD
Stone
Height: 20½ in (52.1 cm), Width: 10 in (25.4 cm)
Provenance: Private Collection, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Trophy head taking was a documented practice among chiefdom-level societies of the Atlantic Watershed Zone of Costa Rica, associated with warfare, ritual, and the display of status by elite warriors. Stone figures depicting men holding severed heads are a recognized sculptural category within this tradition, produced in volcanic stone by carvers working within a regional aesthetic that emphasized frontality, bold volumetric forms, and the direct representation of ritual action. The Atlantic Watershed Zone, encompassing much of central and eastern Costa Rica, was a center of stone sculpture production from approximately 500 to 1500 AD.
This figure stands at substantial scale, with one arm raised to the side of the head and the opposite hand holding a trophy head against the body, in the posture characteristic of the warrior display type. The volcanic stone surface is heavily weathered, consistent with outdoor or burial context exposure over centuries, and the facial features, body proportions, and trophy head are modeled with the directness typical of Atlantic Watershed workshop production. The Santa Fe provenance places this piece within the Southwest American collecting tradition for Costa Rican material.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Costa Rica, Atlantic Watershed Zone
Circa 1300 AD
Stone
Height: 20½ in (52.1 cm), Width: 10 in (25.4 cm)
Provenance: Private Collection, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Trophy head taking was a documented practice among chiefdom-level societies of the Atlantic Watershed Zone of Costa Rica, associated with warfare, ritual, and the display of status by elite warriors. Stone figures depicting men holding severed heads are a recognized sculptural category within this tradition, produced in volcanic stone by carvers working within a regional aesthetic that emphasized frontality, bold volumetric forms, and the direct representation of ritual action. The Atlantic Watershed Zone, encompassing much of central and eastern Costa Rica, was a center of stone sculpture production from approximately 500 to 1500 AD.
This figure stands at substantial scale, with one arm raised to the side of the head and the opposite hand holding a trophy head against the body, in the posture characteristic of the warrior display type. The volcanic stone surface is heavily weathered, consistent with outdoor or burial context exposure over centuries, and the facial features, body proportions, and trophy head are modeled with the directness typical of Atlantic Watershed workshop production. The Santa Fe provenance places this piece within the Southwest American collecting tradition for Costa Rican material.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
