Pre-Columbian Mixtec Carved Greenstone Amuletic Pinata Figure

Postclassic Period, c. 900 – 1521 CE, Oaxaca / Guerrero Borderland, Mexico.

A finely carved Pre-Columbian Mixtec greenstone amuletic figure of the celebrated "pinata" / standing-personage type, hewn from a dense pale celadon-green serpentine or hardstone with warm cream-and-ochre mineral encrustations. The figure stands frontally with a cylindrical headdress / crown, a strong triangular ridged nose, deep linear mouth, defined shoulders, and clearly delineated hands clasped across the chest, terminating in short stepped legs. Pierced laterally through the upper back / shoulders for suspension as a pendant or amuletic bead.  The piece belongs to the broad highland Mexican greenstone amuletic-figure tradition that flourished from the Late Classic into the Postclassic Period across the Mixteca-Puebla and Mezcala / Guerrero culture spheres. Carved pale celadon greenstone (serpentine / metavolcanic hardstone) in crisp linear cuts defining the headdress register, brow, nose, mouth, arms, and clasped hands. Lateral suspension perforation drilled through the upper back, fully open and intact.    
Excellent stable ancient condition. All carved features fully preserved; suspension perforation clear and unbroken; patina rich and untouched. No restoration.  Dimensions  1-5/8 in H + block adds height.

Pre-Columbian Mixtec, Postclassic Period, c. 900 – 1521 CE, Oaxaca / Guerrero borderland, Mexico, in a style closely related to the Mezcala greenstone tradition of central Guerrero. Comparable Mixtec and Mezcala-related greenstone amuletic figures are held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Dumbarton Oaks, the Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City, the Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca, and LACMA, and are illustrated in Carlo Gay, Mezcala Stone Sculpture* (1967) and Reents-Budet & Frame, Olmec to Aztec* (1996).  

Provenance: Private Mercer Island WA collection by descent from Ruth Goldwyn Capps & Henry McClure Capps (known as Mac) who was an art director and production designer for TV & films in the mid-1950s.