On view
Art of the Ancient Americas
Life-size head,
1000–500 BCE
Olmec style
Middle Formative Period
y1994-13
More Context
Probably broken from a life-size statue, this eroded stone head is one of many variations on the representation of a supernatural. The relatively small nose and upper lip, carved in relief, are the best-preserved features. The ears are no more than rounded mounds with the suggestion of incisions on the left one. The badly eroded eyes are narrowed by the rise of the full cheeks. The figure wears a headdress comprised of three rectangular forms. (from The Olmec World, 1996)
Information
Title
Life-size head
Dates
1000–500 BCE
Medium
Gray and pinkish granite
Dimensions
31.5 × 22.5 × 17 cm (12 3/8 × 8 7/8 × 6 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Object Number
y1994-13
Place Made
North America, Mexico, Veracruz or Tabasco, Gulf Coast
Culture
Period
Type
Materials
Subject
Jay C. Leff [1]. [The Stendahl Gallery, Los Angeles CA]; purchased by the Princeton University Art Museum, 1994. [1] According to 1959 publication from the Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh.
- Exotic Art from Ancient and Primitive Civilizations: Collection of Jay C. Leff (Pittsburgh, Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh, Department of Fine Arts, 1959)., cat. no. 410
- Jay C. Leff, Exotic Art from Ancient and Primitive Civilizations: A Selection from the Collection of Jay C. Leff, The American Federation of the Arts (New York, 1961)., cat. no. 42
- Elizabeth K. Easby, Ancient Art of Latin America from the Collection of Jay C. Leff (Brooklyn, The Brooklyn Museum, 1966). , cat. no. 1
- Pre-Columbian Art of Mexico and Mayan Area: The Property of Jay C. Leff, Uniontown, Pa. (New York: Parke-Bernet Galleries, 1970), lot 93 (illus.)
- "Acquisitions of the Art Museum 1994," Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 54, no. 1 (1995): p. 40-79., pp. 63–64
- Michael D. Coe et al., The Olmec World: Ritual and Rulership (Princeton, Princeton University Art Museum, 1996), cat. no. 136, p. 238 (illus.)
