Guatemalan Carved Column

The Maya peoples of Guatemala created incredible works of art through columnar woodworking and stone shaping. The base carvings on this column emulate ferns and other low-lying foliage. As the artisan worked upwards, the ferns gave way to a fantastically tight spiral, topped by a canopy of leaves reaching for the sun. This striking sense of movement draws the eye across the subtle textural variations in the nut-brown wood. The hand of the craftsperson is starkly apparent in this soulful sculptural object.