Olmec Stone Figure, Middle Preclassic, circa 900 - 600 BC

David Bramhall, New York, active in the 1960s

Judith Small Nash, New York, acquired from the above

Acquired from the above on March 13, 1998

Small and delicately carved, this figure embodies the powerful qualities of larger Olmec greenstone figures in the meditative and trance-like posture. Of thin section and altered in profile only by the rounded head curved to the back. It is finely carved with the definitive trapezoidal mouth, delicate nose showing tiny drilled nostrils, pierced ears and deeply recessed eyes highlighted by grooves as signs of maturity. Of note is the delicately incised belt with crossed-band motif encircling the waist, an emblem connected to the Olmec Supernatural, with a narrow loincloth below. The attention to detail and execution indicates a figure of importance created by a talented artisan.

For similar figures, see Michael D. Coe, ed., The Olmec World: Ritual and Rulership, Princeton, 1995, pp. 149-159, cat. nos. 18-21.