Anthropomorphic Idol CULTURE: Mezcala, Estado de Guerrero, Mexico PERIOD: 400 – 100 BC MATERIAL: Stone SIZE: Height 11.2 cm. PROVENANCE: Private collection, Paris, France. 1970. With spanish import / export license. CONDITION: Good condition. Broken face. DESCRIPTION: During the Mesoamerican Pre-Classic era, a great tradition grew up of making small stone objects in the zone of Guerrero as well as along the Mexican Pacific coast. Three well differentiated, but related styles can be identified: Mezcala, Chontal and Sultepec. The Mezcala style was defined in the decade of the 1960s, documented by stone pieces made from calcite, diorite, andesite, meta-diorite, serpentinite, porphyry, among other types of stone. These are thought to originate in the basin of the River Mezcala, in the state of Guerrero. They are characterized by their schematic form and faintly suggested features, and include figurines, masks and small temples among the most common types, along with jaguars, frogs, monkeys and birds, or tools like axes, chisels, burins and buffers. Using only rudimentary tools, the stoneware artisans of Guerrero created objects that represented anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures or architectural structures, reducing the forms to their purest essence. As the rendering of these pieces is defined by their simplicity and their strong geometrical forms, they connect closely with modern aesthetic sensibilities. BIBLIOGRPHY: - GAY, Carlo T. Mezcala Stone Sculpture: the human figure. The Museum of Primitive Art. Nueva York. 1967. - REYNA-ROBLES, Rosa María. La Cultura Arqueologica Mezcala. Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia. 2006. - El arte Mezcala. Gobierno Constitucional del Estado de Guerrero. México. 1993. - El estado de Guerrero, un estado por descubrir. Revista Arqueología Mexicana. Vol. 24, nov-dic 2006. Notes: - The piece includes authenticity certificate. - The piece includes Spanish Export License (Passport for European Union) - If the piece is destined outside the European Union a substitution of the export permit should be requested, can take between 1-2 weeks maximum. - The seller guarantees that he acquired this piece according to all national and international laws related to the ownership of cultural property. Provenance statement seen by Catawiki.