Description:

Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Colima, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A pair of stylistically matching shaman figures that are hand-built from pottery and decorated with red slip. Each figure presents atop broad, ovoid feet while holding a crescent-shaped implement - one figure holds a conical staff atop while foot while the other raises a spool-topped staff. Recessed shell pendants dangle in front of the chests while tab-shaped ears, bulbous noses, and protruding forehead horns comprise each face. Size of largest (raised staff): 9" W x 16.375" H (22.9 cm x 41.6 cm)

Colima, located on Mexico's southwestern coast, was part of the shaft tomb culture during this period, along with neighbors to the north in Jalisco and Nayarit. In this culture, the dead were buried down shafts - 3 to 20 meters deep - that were dug vertically or near vertically through the volcanic tuff that makes up the geology of the region. The base of the shaft would open into one or more horizontal chambers with a low ceiling. These shafts were almost always dug beneath a dwelling, probably a family home, and seem to have been used as family mausoleums, housing the remains of many related individuals. This is a figure made to be placed inside those mausoleums, perhaps to mediate between the worlds of the living and the dead.

Provenance: ex-Marc Amiguet Schmitt estate, Amiguet's Ancient Art, Evansville, Indiana, USA, acquired prior to January 1, 2010

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#174690

  • Condition: Professional repair and restoration to both figures, with resurfacing and overpainting along new material and break lines. Abrasions and nicks commensurate with age, with light earthen deposits, and minor fading to surface pigment. Great manganese blooms throughout.

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December 1, 2022 8:00 AM MST
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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