The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 30, 2023

Seated Figure

100 BC - 300

Mexico, Guerrero, Mezcala

Serpentine

Overall: 7.5 x 4.4 x 5.5 cm (2 15/16 x 1 3/4 x 2 3/16 in.)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener 1990.191

Location

not on view

Description

The Mezcala style takes its name from a river in its homeland, the Guerrero region of western Mexico. The style is known for small-scale sculptures characterized by sleek abstraction and often made of greenstone, one of the most precious materials that Mesoamerican artists worked. Unfortunately, little is known of the sculptures’ meanings and archaeological contexts.

Provenance
?-1969
David Bramhall, 1969, sold to James C. and Florence C. Gruener
1969-1990
James C. [1903-1990] and Florence C. [1908-1982] Gruener, Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
1990
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Citations
Young-Sánchez, Margaret. "The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 79, no. 7 (1992): 234-75. Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 248 www.jstor.org
Exhibition history

Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; February 4 - November 29, 1992. "The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art." The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art. 79 (September, 1992.) cat. no. 44, p. 269, repr. fig. 44, p. 248.

The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 4-November 29, 1992).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1990.191