Description:

Pre-Columbian, Valley of Mexico, Mixtec culture, ca. 1200 to 1500 CE. A fascinating example of a face maskette pendant that is hand-carved from bone, perhaps from a cow or that of another ungulate. The captivating face presents with wide, rectangular eye sockets above an openwork nose, a broad mouth with rounded corners, tab-shaped ears, a prominent chin, and a brow with petite lateral perforations. Incised across the face are intricate curvilinear motifs that imbue the countenance with an almost feline or zoomorphic presentation. Maskette pendants like this example were perhaps suspended from necklaces as imagery depicting one's slain enemies. Size: 2.7" W x 3.6" H (6.9 cm x 9.1 cm); 3.9" H (9.9 cm) on included custom stand.

Provenance: private Hidden Valley Lake, California, USA collection; ex-Artemis Gallery, Louisville, Colorado, USA, May 20th, 2021, Ancient & Ethnographic From Around the World auction, lot 201; ex-private Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA collection; ex-Dr. David Harner collection, Springdale, Arkansas, USA, acquired between the 1950s and 1960s

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A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.

Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.

#170735

  • Condition: Repaired from a few large pieces with small chips and light adhesive residue along break lines. Loss to 1 nostril. Small chips along obverse and peripheries, with age-commensurate ossification. Nice patina across surfaces. Old inventory number "ME 2285" written in black ink on verso of brow.

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April 21, 2022 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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