Description:

Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Jalisco, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A pair of small redware figures, both depicting seated women. One has incised hair and earrings, while the other is simpler in her decoration, but their faces are very similar, suggesting that they were made at roughly the same time. Size: 4.3" W x 6.25" H (10.9 cm x 15.9 cm)

In this culture, the dead were buried down shafts -- 3 to 20 meters deep -- that were dug vertically or near vertically through the volcanic tuff that makes up the geology of the region. The base of the shaft would open into one or more horizontal chambers with a low ceiling. These shafts were almost always dug beneath a dwelling, probably a family home, and seem to have been used as family mausoleums, housing the remains of many related individuals. These figures were made to be placed inside those mausoleums, perhaps to mediate between the worlds of the living and the dead.

Provenance: Ex-Adeon Gallery, Chicago, IL, acquired prior to 1970.

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#119187

  • Condition: Both have been repaired from multiple pieces

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January 19, 2017 7:00 AM MST
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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