Lot 93
Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Jalisco, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A large, heavy hand-built figure of a seated man. He is painted overall a very deep red color, with signs of firing and faint black lines painted on the ears, perhaps to indicate earrings. He wears twin bracelets on the upper arms but otherwise seems unclothed. He has wide, staring eyes, a long, thin nose, and his mouth is set into a line, lips slightly parted. His posture suggests he is patiently waiting and/or listening. Size: 8" L x 9.4" W x 14.2" H (20.3 cm x 23.9 cm x 36.1 cm)
Jalisco, located on Mexico's southwestern coast, was part of the shaft tomb culture, along with neighbors along the coast in Colima 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-Triffo Collection, acquired in the 1970s
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#119652
- Condition: Lower left (facing) buttock/upper leg has been repaired. Some craquelure to the red pigment, especially around the shoulders.
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