Architectural Fragment

This simple face, rendered with two holes for eyes and one for the mouth, may have adorned a wall or doorway in a Teotihuacan dwelling. The reddish pumice would have been relatively easy to carve, so the minimal treatment suggests a deliberate and specific representation. The identity of the face remains a mystery; it is known to scholars as the Mask God. A few similar monuments exist, and small ceramic figurines with minimal faces are known. The abstraction of the face appealed to a 20th-century aesthetic; this piece was originally collected by Julius Carlebach, a dealer who also specialized in modern art.