Olmec Figure

Edward H. Merrin, Veracruzana, New York
Howard and Saretta Barnet, New York, acquired from the above on June 21, 1972

Gerald Berjonneau, Emile Deletaille, and Jean-Louis Sonnery, eds., Rediscovered Masterpieces of Mesoamerica, Boulogne, 1985, p. 38, pl. 10
www.mayavase.com, Kerr Portfolio, nos. 267a and 267b

This figure possesses a monumental quality that transcends its small scale. Olmec art placed great emphasis on the representation of imposing physical presence; as Esther Pasztory notes, "Olmec rulers claimed power in themselves as physical entities. They are shown as […] physically powerful […]. By contrast, in the art of later Mesoamerica, most rulers claim legitimacy through costume and insignia that relate to their ancestors or to the spirit world, not through their bodies and faces".¹ The theme of transformation is vital in Olmec art, and in objects such as this the transformative act of the creators is transposed to the artist's creation of sculpture in sacred jade, in this case a pale blue-green stone with flares of darker green on the left arm and ankle. The artist had to manipulate the powers inherent in this material; successfully completing this deeply challenging process "proved the artist's supernatural capability to exercise spiritual discipline and communicate with unpredictable powers for long periods of time."² The artist's success is plain in the exquisite delicacy of the modelling of this small figure, an illustration of the lapidary skill for which the Olmec are renowned. The ears and nostrils are finely perforated, whilst tiny drill marks indicate the corners of the mouth with its everted upper lip. The chin is strong, and accentuates the forward thrust of the elongated head. The rear cleft of the head is a symbol of sprouting maize and associates this sculpture with the important maize deity (God II), who is depicted with corn growing from his cleft head. The distinctive flattened nose is found on a number of other sculptures of high style, including a figure found in "Tomb A" at La Venta, now in the Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City,³ as well as several figures from the famous "Offering 4" from La Venta. This figure was reportedly found in the Guerrero region, although the head and carving are of the La Venta style, the purest and most idealized Olmec style. The shoulders are exceptionally thin and fine, their sloping curve emphasizing the elongation of the head. Very subtle drill marks indicate the sternum, navel and the sacrum; the form of the pectorals and buttocks are suggested with a similarly delicate modulation of the surface. The figure adopts the standing meditative posture, with the legs bent, arms extended, shoulders dropped, back straight, and the gaze intense in its focus. Through this posture union was accomplished with the axis mundi, "the point of alignment and intersection of the three levels of the cosmos – the earth, sky, and underworld […] the place of entrance and conduit between the natural and supernatural worlds."⁴

The arms of the figure – which must have been of exceptional delicacy – have broken and been carved again in antiquity, with incisions indicating the fingers on the foreshortened arms. Perhaps at the same time two holes were drilled at the top of the shoulders, allowing this superb sculpture to be worn as a pendant.

¹ Pasztory, Thinking with Things: Toward a New Vision of Art, Austin, 2005, p. 186
² Tate in Coe, ed., The Olmec World: Ritual and Rulership, Princeton, 1995, p. 50
³ See Benson and de la Fuente, eds., Olmec Art of Ancient Mexico, Washington, D.C., 1996, p. 207, cat. no. 45
⁴ Coe, ed., ibid., p. 225