Lot 27E
Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Veracruz culture, ca. 550 to 950 CE. One of my favorites! An incredibly intricate, lifelife ceramic sculpture of a seated woman dressed in finery, her body decorated with a distinctive thick black color, chapapote, that is common to Veracruz artwork and is made from petroleum-rich deposits. She sits cross-legged, posed naturalistically, with her hands resting on her knees. Black crosses adorn her nude upper body, while her lower body is undecorated. She wears a choker-like necklace with three beads hanging from it, huge hollow spool earrings, and a headdress with a complex round pattern around its brim and a hand-axe shaped finial. Her face is smooth, with a broad forehead, eyes with wide, shiny, black pupils, and a slightly open mouth with visible upper teeth. Size: 8.15" L x 8.85" W x 14.5" H (20.7 cm x 22.5 cm x 36.8 cm)
Excavations near the town of Remojadas have revealed two types of impressive, detailed pottery figures: the Sonrientes, the joyous "smiling faces" depicting people of all ages and sexes, and figures like this one, more serious, mostly adult females, with elaborate costumes, themes, and sometimes props that all seem to point towards religious or political ceremonies. These figures are often found with the bodies smashed into pieces and the heads largely intact - they were ritually destroyed as burial offerings.
Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection
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#131322
- Condition: Loss to part of headdress and both feet. Body has been expertly repaired and restored. Headdress upper portion and head have both been reattached. Small surface nicks and chips commensurate with age. Nice remaining pigment.
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