Cleveland Museum of Art

Architectural Model

Date

100 BCE–300 CE

Medium

serpentine

Culture

Mesoamerica, Mexico, Guerrero, Mezcala

Department

Art of the Americas

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The Mezcala style takes its name from a river in its homeland, the Guerrero region of western Mexico. The style is known for small-scale stone sculptures including architectural “models” characterized by sleek abstraction. Because comparisons to actual architecture in the Mezcala region are scarce, it is not known whether the models refer to temples, houses, or underground funerary structures. Mezcala architectural models reportedly come from burials, but few have been scientifically excavated.

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