Lot 125
Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Nayarit, Ixtlan Del Rio, Protoclassic period, ca. 100 BCE to 250 CE. A striking example of hand-built pottery figure of a seated female depicted seated with outstretched legs, a simple loincloth with painted geometric motifs, and slender arms clasping a small olla in front of ample breasts. Her neck is adorned with 8 white-painted bead necklaces, and her crescent earrings and simple headband are decorated in golden and jet-black hues, all atop a red-slipped ground. Most of her frontal body is covered in parallel-slit mutilations, each cheek is pierced five times in a rough star pattern, and each tooth is drilled clean through. While her colorful exterior imbues the figure with attractive presentation, it belies a macabre overtone convoked by both the density and variety of bodily scarification. Only her back and the top of her head and face are left unscarred, perhaps to allow her some semblance of feminine beauty. Size: 7.6" W x 12.4" H (19.3 cm x 31.5 cm)
For a few examples of figures with parallel-slit mutilations, please see: Kan, Michael, et al. Sculpture of Ancient West Mexico: Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1989, pp. 102-103, figs. 57, 58 a-b.
Provenance: private Hidden Valley Lake, California, USA collection, purchased April 25, 2019; ex-Artemis Gallery, Louisville, Colorado, USA; ex-private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-private Texas, USA collection
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#170733
- Condition: Both arms and both legs reattached with small chips and light adhesive residue along break lines. Minor nicks to legs, body, arms, and head, with fading to original pigmentation, and a few stable hairline fissures. Nice earthen deposits and traces of original pigmentation throughout.
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