Lot 69A
Pre-Columbian, Central Coast Peru, Chancay, ca. 1000 to 1425 CE. An intriguing wooden tall standing figure carved and painted in a manner characteristic of the artisans of Chancay. The figure's visage is painted with brilliant red pigment as well as white and black for the diamond-shaped eyes and toothy grin. The arms are made from natural reeds tied at intervals with brown camelid (llama or alpaca wool) threads. Finally, the figure wears a garment comprised of a chocolate brown camelid (llama or alpaca wool) yarns created with an openwork gauze technique. The transparency and open weave is strikingly complex. A remarkably well preserved artifact from Chancay culture! Size: 4" W x 27.25" H (10.2 cm x 69.2 cm); 28.75" H (73 cm) on included custom stand.
Figures like this one - sometimes known as burial dolls - were an important part of the Chancay funerary tradition. Family groups were buried together in underground chambers dug deep into the ground; Chancay dolls, such as this example, were placed alongside the mummified individuals, who were placed in a crouched position, often wrapped in textiles. The meaning of these figures remains mysterious. Did they represent guardians? Gods? Mourners? This example's mesmerizing face with those expressive eyes and open mouth seems to cry out through the centuries as if trying to communicate his purpose to us.
Provenance: ex-private Orlando Florida, USA collection; ex Artemis Gallery; ex-Skinner Auctions, Marlboro, Massachusetts, USA; ex-collection of John Schaeffer, before 2000
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#161278
- Condition: Minute fraying of fabric and reed rope. Nicks to limbs, body, and head, with fading to red and white pigment, crevice on back of head and down back and several stable hairline fissures, otherwise intact and very good. Small white collection label on backside of base. Nice remains of pigment.
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