This piece is, without any doubt, a fragment of a larger sculpture. It is most likely from a full body sculpture, in which case, considering the dimensions of the head, would have been one of the greatest Olmec sculptures of a human figure.
This is unequivocally an Olmec piece, and it is unlikely to have come from an area other than the Gulf region given its noticeable formal similarity with other works of the region. It has the features of the more naturalistic and expressive Olmec tradition, one that gave life to the colossal heads. And in particular it corresponds to a type of image with exaggerated, somewhat monstrous, features that might relate to mythological characters.
It is useful to compare this image with the sculpture colloquially known as "el negro" (the black one) in Tres Zapotes. The prominent jaw, thick lips, and very thick snub nose, cheekbones, frowning scowl, swollen eyelids. The resemblance is such that the best scenario would be to place the head near the phase and town of Tres Zapotes, therefore towards the end of the Middle Preclassic.
The thick band or strip of hair that crosses the head and ends at the forehead is similar to those that are found in some colossal heads and the small head exhibited in the Amparo Museum.
A feature of this head is striking and clearly deviates from the naturalistic images that seem to be portraits of governors. The two large curved fangs are not human, but instead appear reptilian. They correspond to those masks that Covarrubias interpreted as part of the genesis of the image of Tlaloc. Thus it is most likely a supernatural being, or in any case a Nahual or a kind of man-beast. It is worth ing, for example, the jaguar men that were common in Olmec iconography.
The quality of the craftsmanship (that is, attachment to a well defined and developed style, and technical capacity to carve a large stone, apparently basalt, accurately with numerous folds and details) and dimensions correspond to a work that must have been part of the ceremonial sculpture of one of the great Olmec centers of the Gulf lineage, such as Tres Zapotes itself or perhaps some other near the massif of Los Tuxtlas.
This piece is, without any doubt, a fragment of a larger sculpture. It is most likely from a full body sculpture, in which case, considering the dimensions of the head, would have been one of the greatest Olmec sculptures of a human figure.
