Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: The Museum Year 2012
The Acquisitions
Art of the Americas: July 2011–June 2012
Hacha
400–800
Stone (basalt?) with traces of red pigment
Classification: Sculpture
Culture: Veracruz
Object Place: Veracruz, Mexico
Period: Classic Period
Accession number: 2012.154
Location: Mesoamerica
Description: Hacha carved on both sides with a profile human head. One side portrays a fleshed head and the other side portrays the same head but in skeletal form. The head is adorned with a headband decorated with rosettes, which recall the paper rosettes adorning Aztec deities during the late Postclassic Period in highland Mexico.
Provenance/Ownership History: About 1962, André Emmerich Gallery, New York; about 1962, sold by Emmerich to Jeptha Wade (b. 1924 – d. 2008), and Emily (Mrs. Jeptha) Wade, Bedford, MA; 2012, bequest of Jeptha Wade to the MFA. (Accession Date: April 25, 2012)
Bequest of Jeptha H. Wade