60. Seated Dwarf with Arms Extended
Middle Formative Period
Hematite
11.5 x 8 (4 ½ x 3
Unknown
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT. The Henry
D. Miller Fund
Hematite is an iron-ore mineral that can be
polished into a mirror shine. Olmec lapidaries used it and other iron ores to
make concave mirrors and manufacture inlays for shell ornaments. This is the
only sculpture yet discovered that is carved from this exotic material. Illustrated
in Pal Kelemen’s pioneering study of Pre-Columbian art (1943), this statue
depicts a seated human figure, probably a dwarf, with massive head and powerful
squat body. The squarish head has soft, fleshy features. The elongated eyes are
deeply carved, the wise nose has a flat tip with drilled nostrils, and the
triangular mouth has a flared upper lip and downturned corners. Rectangular
earflanges with incised channels and drilled lobes jut from the sides of the
head. By joining the enormous head directly to the broad, thick torso, the
sculpture’s stoutness is emphasized. The short stocky arms are outstretched and
the powerful legs are spread apart and held close to the body. Hands and feet
are rendered in simple rounded forms with incised lines indicating the fingers
and toes. Although the statue’s sex is not marked, it clearly has the stocky
bulkiness of a male.
The hematite sculpture’s proportions and
posture resemble those of the finely carved jade swarf excavated in the Cerro
de las Mesas cache (cat. 61). Although the iron-ore piece is considerably more massive
than the jade, both carvings probably represent the same Olmec being. It is
likely that these figures portray the same stout dwarfs depicted on Potrero
Nuevo Monument 2 (cat. 3). The paired atlanteans are earth-bearers who support
the middle plane of the cosmos. They have the same oversized heads, stocky bodies,
and powerful legs shown on the two smaller stone statues. (Elizabeth P. Benson
and Beatriz da la Fuente, Olmec Art of Ancient Mexico [Washington, D.C. National
Gallery of Art], 222-23)
