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This extremely pleasing piece is a realistic rendering of a human face as per the Olmec canon. Note the structure of the cheekbones and of the eyes' orbits clearly showing from beneath the "skin".


Mask
Olmec
Middle Pre-Classic (800-400 B.C.)
State of Guerrero
Greenstone with dark streaks and spots
10.7 x 9 cm.
National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico.

Photo © Jorge Pérez de Lara