Detail View: The AMICA Library: Bench Figure

AMICA ID: 
MMA_.1979.206.1123
AMICA Library Year: 
2002
Object Type: 
Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects
Description: 
This stolid figure seated on a bench is reported to be from highland Chiapas and has antecedents in earlier stone sculpture of the Olmec Gulf Coast, where monumentally scaled "altars" or thrones are thought to have served as the literal seats of power for the reigning lords. Bench figures such as this smaller greenstone variety are rare . Curiously, they often lack a foot, one leg being broken below the knee, which is a conjecturally meaningful feature. How this bench figure functioned is unclear in view of the paired drill holes on the figure's shoulders and on the sides of the bench. The holes suggest that it might have been used, or perhaps reused, in conjunction with something else. It may have been a costume element or perhaps a pendant.
Creator Nationality: 
North American; Central American; Mesoamerican; Epi-Olmec
Creator Name-CRT: 
Epi-Olmec
Title: 
Bench Figure
View: 
Principal view
Creation Date: 
5th?2nd century B.C.
Creation Start Date: 
0
Creation End Date: 
0
Materials and Techniques: 
Greenstone
Creation Place: 
Mexico
Dimensions: 
H. 6 7/8 in. (17.5 cm)
AMICA Contributor: 
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Owner Location: 
New York, New York
ID Number: 
1979.206.1123
Credit Line: 
The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1963
Copyright: 
Copyright ? 2002 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All rights reserved.
Rights: 
Related Image Identifier Link: 
MMA_.h1_1979.206.1123.tif