Stone Chontal Mask, Pre-columbian Mexico

Pendant Mask Depicting a Stylized Face Surmounted by a Serpent
Western Mexico, 300–100 B.C.

Speckled green hardstone with quartz veining
Height: 11.9 cm
Suspension holes

Provenance:
Former J.-A. C. Collection (1956–2019), estate sale
Acquired at that sale by a private collector

This mask was the result of patient and skillful polishing, as the hardness of the stone makes it extremely difficult to work. Compared to the rather schematic works from this corpus, our artist succeeded in creating a formal balance expressed entirely through curves. The mask thus gains a genuine expressiveness.

The intensity of the stone’s color, the beauty of the overall design, and the extremely rare iconography make this object a true masterpiece of Chontal art.

Comparable Works:
Similar material and serpent motif: exhibition catalogue, 1992, Royal Museums of Art and History, Treasures of the New World, fig. 147 (private collection)
Sotheby’s New York, African, Oceanic and Pre-Columbian Art, 11/05/2012, lot 17