Maya culture, Southern Mexico and Guatemala
500 to 800 AD
Stucco plaster
Height: 11 in (27.9 cm)
Provenance: J. Martinez, San Diego, California; Allen Stone, New York, acquired in the 1960s
This stucco plaster head was made to adorn a wall within a structure of the Maya empire, which spanned present day southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, western Honduras, and the Yucatan Peninsula during the Classic period. The face is rendered with the elongated proportions and serene authority characteristic of Classic Maya sculptural convention, reflecting the tradition of monumental portraiture in stucco through which Maya artists achieved an extraordinary level of refinement and naturalism.
The Allen Stone provenance is significant. Allen Stone was among the most important American art dealers and collectors of the twentieth century, whose New York gallery and personal collection were instrumental in introducing major works of tribal, Pre-Columbian, and contemporary art to American collectors and institutions from the 1960s onward. Acquisition in the 1960s places this piece within the generation of collecting that preceded modern cultural property legislation, a significant provenance factor for Pre-Columbian material of this caliber.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Maya culture, Southern Mexico and Guatemala
500 to 800 AD
Stucco plaster
Height: 11 in (27.9 cm)
Provenance: J. Martinez, San Diego, California; Allen Stone, New York, acquired in the 1960s
This stucco plaster head was made to adorn a wall within a structure of the Maya empire, which spanned present day southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, western Honduras, and the Yucatan Peninsula during the Classic period. The face is rendered with the elongated proportions and serene authority characteristic of Classic Maya sculptural convention, reflecting the tradition of monumental portraiture in stucco through which Maya artists achieved an extraordinary level of refinement and naturalism.
The Allen Stone provenance is significant. Allen Stone was among the most important American art dealers and collectors of the twentieth century, whose New York gallery and personal collection were instrumental in introducing major works of tribal, Pre-Columbian, and contemporary art to American collectors and institutions from the 1960s onward. Acquisition in the 1960s places this piece within the generation of collecting that preceded modern cultural property legislation, a significant provenance factor for Pre-Columbian material of this caliber.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
