Pendant in the shape of a figure. Mixteca, Oaxaca. P. Postclassic, 1400 - 1500 AD. Green stone 4,5 cm height wiht stand, 2,5 cm height without stand. Provenance: Private collection, Paris, 1960 - 1980. Old label on the back. Public auction, Thence by descent. Condition: Good, intact, see photos Documents: Spanish Import/Export license. The Mixtec culture flourished in the present-day State of Oaxaca, Mexico, a tropical zone with a hot temperate climate, summer rainy season and winter dry season. The geography varies from coastal to sierra, and includes forests and arable lands. The Mixtec people lived mainly in the highlands of the cloud-covered Oaxacan sierra, earning them the nickname of “Cloud People”. The Mixtecs were highly skilled in different forms of artistic expression. They made outstanding pieces with semiprecious stones such as jade, rock crystal, opal and obsidian. These included decorative items and small figurines in the form of deities, ancestors and animals, mostly rabbits and turtles. They also created mosaics out of turquoise. They worked gold into a variety of adornments such as brooches, rings, necklaces, nose ornaments and squash-shaped plates. In wood, they made ceremonial artifacts such as masks and knives. Their pottery was primarily polychromatic and consisted mainly of three-legged vessels decorated with animals, mythological figures, or flowers and multicolored borders. Other ceramic pieces include cups and bowls with long bases finished with a serpent head painted red and white, similar in style to their murals. The most common Mixtec iconographic motifs are deities and their insignias, animal emblems (serpent, jaguar, deer, rabbit, spider, etc.), sun and moon discs, bands of stars, skulls, skeletons and figures representing natural elements such as water and fire. These types of images are frequently found in Mixtec pictographic manuscripts or codices that narrated historic events and religious themes. Music appears to have played a central role in Mixtec ceremonies, judging by the large number of instruments such as rattles, graters, conchs and drums that have been found among the grave goods of these people. The Mixtecs reused the Zapotec tombs of Monte Albán for burying their nobles, who were laid to rest with a rich array of gold jewels and vessels. These underground tombs had a rectangular or cruciform layout and some contain evidence of human sacrifice.