Description:

Pre-Columbian, Costa Rica, Nicoya culture, ca. 800 to 1200 CE. A hollow, molded pottery figure of a kneeling woman with clear sexual and ritual connotations. She sits with her thighs spread and her legs folded underneath her. Her hands press into her thighs. She has huge, bulging eyes and large lips. Aside from her head, which is covered with a helmet-like item, she is nude, with crosses, lines, and other motifs painted on her body. Her belly button is an opening in the figure and the body of a child is seen protruding from between her legs. The heavy painting all over the woman's body may indicate tattooing or scarification patterns that were common in real life, and almost certainly had symbolic meaning to the audience who would have viewed the piece. Size: 4.45" W x 6.8" H (11.3 cm x 17.3 cm)

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-private Mazard family collection, France, acquired in the 1970s

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#154183

  • Condition: Small, stable crack on one thigh; otherwise in excellent condition with great preserved pigment and extensive manganese deposits.

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May 7, 2020 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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