Ancient or Antique stone figure?

Hello everyone, i have gambled and bought this stone figure hoping it was something interesting. And it was a gamble because the photoś of the seller where terrible and unsharp.

The figure is made out of an unknown type of stone and measures 11,5 x 5,5 x 4,5 cm. It is a woman holding a child.

The seller claimed it was pre-columbian or inca??

My question for this statue is: Where does it originate from and how old is it?

 

Please post a straight on view of the face.

 

found this site with a stone figure that look like mine: https://www.mbabram.com/tribal-ethn...-stone-effigy-figure-rapa-iti-austral-islands

don't look at the price because that is not reliable. I just thought that the figure had the same face.

 

Buying "precolumbian" objects is almost always problematic. Without accurate provenance/provenience (where it was found), it is usually not possible to be certain about an identification. Stone cannot be directly dated, and style can be copied (with more or less skill). Enterprising artisans have been copying and recreating artifacts in Mexico, Central America and the Andes since the late 19th century.

Stylistically, I think your figure probably comes from Mexico rather than the Andes. A few features resemble stone Mezcala figures from the State of Guerrero, but those are typically more abstract. The eyes on your figure are more detailed.

Granted, not all figures were carved by the finest artists, but there are definitely some issues with your piece. She has a left shoulder, but no room was left for a shoulder on her right - just a flat surface.

In several places I see marks that look like metal file marks. Precolumbian artisans did not have metal files - surfaces were carefully smoothed and polished by using abrasives. A careful analysis of the tool marks might also be able to determine if the stone was worked before or after it became worn and pitted. I suspect the latter is the case, the stone having been selected because it would "look old."

 

Oke thanks for the explanation.

 

I would be cautious about buying something from a seller who claims either "pre-columbian" or "Inca."

Debora

 

You have to take all features into consideration, rather than relying on a single characteristic.