Lot 80
Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Nayarit, San Sebastian, Protoclassic Period, ca. 100 BCE to 250 CE. A powerful pottery figure of a warrior shown standing nude and wielding a club in one hand. Standing atop a pair of thick legs, the ancient figure presents a bulging belly, broad shoulders, and a sizable head. His delineated pupils focus forward from beneath a towering brow and slender headband. A septum ring hangs from his pointed nose just above his partially opened mouth, while annular earrings flank his visage. This nude warrior was likely intended to stand guard at a shaft tomb, deterring any potential intruders or thieves. Size: 4.4" L x 8.6" W x 13.1" H (11.2 cm x 21.8 cm x 33.3 cm)
Clay figures like this one are the only remains that we have today of a sophisticated and unique culture in West Mexico. They made no above-ground monuments or sculptures, at least that we know of, which is in strong contrast to developments elsewhere in ancient Mesoamerica. Instead, their tombs were their lasting works of art: skeletons arrayed radially with their feet positioned inward, and clay offerings, like this one, placed alongside the walls facing inward, near the skulls. A large effigy like this one would most likely have flanked the entrance to a tomb in a way that archaeologists have interpreted as guarding. Some scholars have connected these dynamic sculptures of the living as a strong contrast to the skeletal remains whose space they shared, as if they mediated between the living and the dead.
Provenance: private Ferndale, Michigan, USA collection; ex-Material Culture, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, February 23rd, 2022, lot 132; ex-estate collection of Isadore and Nancy Marder, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
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#182553
- Condition: Professionally repaired with restoration and minor chipping along a few visible break lines. Nicks and abrasions to surface as shown, commensurate with age. Liberal remaining pigments and mineral deposits in areas.
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