Mexico, Olmec
900 to 400 BC
Stone
Height 3 1/2" (8.9 cm)
Provenance: Leonard Kaplan, New York; with condition and authentication report from Conservation and Technical Services, London, 2002
The Olmec civilization, which flourished in the Gulf Coast lowlands of south central Mexico from approximately 1200 to 400 BC, is considered the foundational culture of Mesoamerica, its artistic and ceremonial traditions influencing all subsequent civilizations in the region. Stone masks of this period follow a recognizable formal canon: broad nose, downturned or slightly parted mouth, almond-shaped eyes, and a generalized facial type understood as symbolic rather than portraiture. These masks were among the most prestigious lapidary productions of the Olmec world, associated with ritual, funerary, and dedicatory contexts.
The absence of eye and mouth perforations, combined with the scale and weight of the stone, indicates this mask was not worn by a living person but was instead likely attached to a perishable figure, deity bundle, or mortuary assemblage. Olmec stone masks of this type have been found in ritual deposits, buried offerings, and elite funerary contexts across the Olmec heartland and in sites far beyond it, reflecting the wide reach of Olmec ceremonial influence during the Middle Formative period. The conventionalized facial features connect this example to a well documented corpus of Olmec portable stone carving held in major museum and institutional collections.
The authentication report from Conservation and Technical Services, London, dated 2002, provides independent technical documentation of the object's material and condition. The Leonard Kaplan provenance places the mask within a recognized category of Pre-Columbian objects that entered New York private collections during the 20th century. The combination of technical documentation, New York dealer provenance, and the mask's connection to the core Olmec ceremonial tradition gives this piece a clear position within the documented corpus of early Mesoamerican stone carving.
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Mexico, Olmec
900 to 400 BC
Stone
Height 3 1/2" (8.9 cm)
Provenance: Leonard Kaplan, New York; with condition and authentication report from Conservation and Technical Services, London, 2002
The Olmec civilization, which flourished in the Gulf Coast lowlands of south central Mexico from approximately 1200 to 400 BC, is considered the foundational culture of Mesoamerica, its artistic and ceremonial traditions influencing all subsequent civilizations in the region. Stone masks of this period follow a recognizable formal canon: broad nose, downturned or slightly parted mouth, almond-shaped eyes, and a generalized facial type understood as symbolic rather than portraiture. These masks were among the most prestigious lapidary productions of the Olmec world, associated with ritual, funerary, and dedicatory contexts.
The absence of eye and mouth perforations, combined with the scale and weight of the stone, indicates this mask was not worn by a living person but was instead likely attached to a perishable figure, deity bundle, or mortuary assemblage. Olmec stone masks of this type have been found in ritual deposits, buried offerings, and elite funerary contexts across the Olmec heartland and in sites far beyond it, reflecting the wide reach of Olmec ceremonial influence during the Middle Formative period. The conventionalized facial features connect this example to a well documented corpus of Olmec portable stone carving held in major museum and institutional collections.
The authentication report from Conservation and Technical Services, London, dated 2002, provides independent technical documentation of the object's material and condition. The Leonard Kaplan provenance places the mask within a recognized category of Pre-Columbian objects that entered New York private collections during the 20th century. The combination of technical documentation, New York dealer provenance, and the mask's connection to the core Olmec ceremonial tradition gives this piece a clear position within the documented corpus of early Mesoamerican stone carving.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
INQUIRE HERE
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