Lot 56
Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Jalisco, Ameca-Etzatlan, ca. 1st century BCE to 3rd century CE. A captivating pottery figure shown seated and bare-chested while holding a club in one hand, perhaps intended to guard the tomb in which they were placed. Enveloped in beige slip, the figure holds their other hand to their chin as though in thought. Their ovoid head faces forward presenting huge eyes, a sharp nose, and a close-lipped smile, all elaborately adorned with mesmerizing, black-painted tattoos. Size: 6" L x 10" W x 14.1" H (15.2 cm x 25.4 cm x 35.8 cm)
West Mexican shaft tomb figures like this example derive their names from the central architectural feature that we know of from this culture. Jalisco, located on Mexico's southwestern coast, was part of the shaft tomb culture during this time, along with neighbors in nearby Colima and Nayarit. These people would build generally rectangular vertical or near-vertical shafts down from the ground level - usually about 3 to 20 meters deep - through tepetate, the volcanic tuff that makes up the geology of the region, to narrow horizontal tunnels that led to one or more vaulted or rounded burial chambers.
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. Figures like this one were placed into the tombs; researchers believe that they were placed around the edges facing inward, as if in conversation with the dead. Grouped with other figures, and alongside clay bowls, and boxes, figures like this one were positioned around the body (or bodies), near the skull.
Provenance: private Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA collection; ex-private Fayetteville, Arkansas estate, USA, acquired 1960 to 2024
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#186940
- Condition: Missing top of club in proper right hand. Professionally repaired with restoration and repainting in areas; done very well and difficult to notice. Chipping to fingers of right hand and light surface wear throughout, commensurate with age. Otherwise, nice remaining pigments and great manganese deposits to surface.
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