Mezcala Greenstone Face Panel, 300 BCE - 300 CE
Greenstone
5.25
PF.1259
Further images
So monumental and eternal is this ancient head that the features seem to have been carved by the hand of nature rather than by man. Just a few bold lines...
So monumental and eternal is this ancient head that the features seem to have been carved by the hand of nature rather than by man. Just a few bold lines are used to define the total personality: powerful, confident, aristocratic. The eyes may originally have been painted in, but their absence gives the impression of vision which radiates from within. As commanding as the patrician portraits of ancient Rome, with which it is contemporary, this remarkable head defines an age, a class, a culture.