Colossal masterworks of ancient Mexico.

• Position: The World Yesterday - Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Considered the "mother culture" of Mesoamerica and recognized as the continent's oldest civilization, the people known today as the Olmec developed an iconic and sophisticated artistic style as early as the second millennium B.C. The Olmec are best known for the creation of colossal heads carved from giant boulders that have fascinated the public and archaeologists alike since they were discovered in the mid-19th century. The monumental heads remain among ancient America's most awe-inspiring and beautiful masterpieces.

"Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico" features more than 100 objects drawn primarily from Mexican national collections, with additional loans from over 25 museums. Included are colossal heads, a large-scale throne, and monumental stelae in addition to precious small-scale vessels, figures, adornments, and masks.

"Colossal Masterworks" brings together for the first time new finds and monuments that never have been seen by U.S. audiences, and reveals groundbreaking scholarship on Olmec culture arid artifacts. "In the 15 years since the last Olmec exhibition on American soil," explains curator Kathleen Benin, "archaeologists have made amazing finds at key sites in Mexico. Informed by the most recent scholarship, this sweeping international project brings together a terrific collection of artwork that paints a vivid portrait of life in the Olmec heartland."

This pre-Columbian civilization flourished in the Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco between 1400 and 400 B.C., corresponding with the Golden Age of Greece and the Zhou Dynasty of China. Architects and artists produced the earliest monument stone structures and sculptures

North America, including enormous basalt portrait heads of their rulers weighing up to 24 tons. Examples of large-scale works in the exhibition include:

* "Monument Q" from Tres Zapotes--this was carved from a distinctive porphyritic basalt and weighs more than eight tons. It was the second colossal head to be discovered at this locale.

* "Colossal Head 5" from San...