Property from the Collection of Jack and Cynthia Steinberger, Switzerland
Olmec Green Stone Mask
Middle Preclassic, circa 900 - 600 BC
Lot closes
December 10, 03:13 PM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 EUR
Starting Bid
16,000 EUR
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Read more.Lot Details
Description
Property from the Collection of Jack and Cynthia Steinberger, Switzerland
Olmec Green Stone Mask
Middle Preclassic, circa 900 - 600 BC
Height: 3 ⅞ in (9.7 cm)
Edward H. Merrin Gallery, New York
Jack and Cynthia Steinberger, Switzerland, acquired from the above in 1974
The small mask portrays the compelling expression that is a hallmark of the Olmec mask tradition. Carved in a rounded, life-like form, the narrowed eyes are marked by the slightly swollen lower lids and fine incised line along the top. Nostrils evoke inhalation, and a well-modeled philtrum accentuates the open mouth. The top of the head shows the radiating, finely incised coiffure seen on some Olmec kneeling figures. It is pierced for suspension on the top and sides in six areas.
“Maskettes [...] were elements of the symbolically charged ritual costume. [... ] Ritual costume and paraphernalia were visual statements of the supernatural power of the performer on which the legitimacy of rulership rested.“1
For the genre of small masks, see Coe et. al., op. cit., pp. 250-253, figs. 150-154.
1 Michael D. Coe et. al., eds., The Olmec World, Ritual and Rulership, Princeton, 1996, p. 241.
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