The discovery of a language to schematically represent the forms that the Mezcala tradition created is one of the most valuable contributions of Mesoamerican art. We believe we must understand the Mezcala phenomenon as a happy conjunction of two factors: on the one side, a very clear symbolic intention that requires a certain level of abstraction, and on the other, a material and technique that implied the preferably straight-lined and geometric execution of the different forms.
Among the most original and notable works are the representations of architecture, above all, flat frontal views. Some vertical cuts indicate the presence of columns, and some sgraffito lines mark the base, , stairs and several details of the roof. This is what happens with the representations of the human figure in this tradition. The efficiency with which a meager number of traces convincingly describes a very complex object is surprising.
This is the most distinct one of the group of architectonic pieces of the Mezcala tradition in the Amparo Museum collection, as it is made in the third dimension, although with criteria of abstraction and the general distribution typical to the other Mezcala architectonic models.
They seem to be schematic representations of temples, and it is probable that they presided over the Mezcala grave goods. They would have been associated with the representations of the "world" that accompanied the deceased in miniature.
The discovery of a language to schematically represent the forms that the Mezcala tradition created is one of the most valuable contributions of Mesoamerican art. We believe we must understand the Mezcala phenomenon as a happy conjunction of two factors: on the one side, a very clear symbolic intention that requires a certain level of abstraction, and on the other, a material and technique that implied the preferably straight-lined and geometric execution of the different forms.
