Mezcala culture is the conventional
name attributed to a Mesoamerican
culture that was based in what is today
the federal state of Guerrero in
southwestern Mexico. Although the
information relative to this culture is
neither numerous nor profound, it is
believed to have developed during the
Middle and Late Pre-Classic
Mesoamerican periods, roughly between
700 and 200 BC.
The culture continued undiminished into
the Classic Mesoamerican Period, circa
250 to 650 AD, coexisting and
developing parallel to the great
metropolis of Teotihuacan in the north.
Archaeologists have been able to study
the culture through a limited number of
scientific excavations and through the
study of Mezcala sculptures found as
dedicatory offerings at the Aztec
complex of Tenochtitlan.
The influence of Teotihuacan influence
is more than pervasive in the Mezcala
region, whereas at the same time there
has also been some considerable
influence from the Mezcala culture to
the valley of Teotihuacan.
The Aztecs, although appearing in the
area at a much later date, showed great
respect and valued the Mezcala
sculptures, since a great group of them
was found among the dedicatory
offerings excavated at the Great Temple
of Tenochtitlan, built in the 14th and
15th centuries AD. These groups
included over fifty-six stone masks and
ninety-eight figurines. For a reason still
remaining unknown, twenty-six of these
figurines were divided equally between
two stone boxes and arranged in south-
facing rows.
The Mezcala culture sculptures are
generally characterised by a tendency
to be abstract, a style characterised by
the simplicity of design and details
suggested by lines and differences in
texture. The sculptural style of the
Mezcala culture was skilfully rendered
with straight cuts and tends to be using
mostly geometric forms, and their
highly-stylized and refined
craftsmanship has led them to be
compared to the equally well-polished
Cycladic figures. In all probability the
Mezcala sculptures have been
influenced by the Olmec style and vice-
versa, the Mezcala culture has obviously
had a significant impact to the evolution
of sculpture at the Classic-period
metropolis of Teotihuacan in the Valley
of Mexico.
The world renowned British sculptor,
Henry Moore, collected the little-known
at the time stone figures of the Mezcala,
placing them on his tables and
windowsills. He stated, in fact, that
these stone figurines had a significant
influence upon his own work. Moore
was obviously not alone in collecting
Mezcala figurines, as due to their
enduring appeal they were often paired
with abstract-expressionist paintings in
the late 1950s and throughout the
1960s.
The smooth and extremely polished
figure, almost with certainty belonging
to a male, is presented assuming a
hieratic posture of bold simplicity,
carved with a minimalistic quality that
evokes modern abstraction,
accentuated by the long arms and the
rather large head, with prominent
browns, sunken eye and open mouth.
The sloping cheek planes meet at the
centre of the face to form a vertical
ridge suggesting the nose.
- (CB.2946)
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