Description:

Pre-Columbian, Gulf Coast Mexico, Veracruz (Vera Cruz), ca. 3rd to 7th century CE. A lovely hollow-molded pottery head of a sonriente ("smiling face") with a flared neck base. The puffy face presents with rounded cheeks, a petite nose with delineated nostrils, hoop-form ear spools, almond-shaped eyes, and a signature smiling mouth, all beneath an intricate headband with a pair of intersecting 'V' motifs. A wonderful figurative example from ancient Mexico! Lucite display stand for photography purposes only. Size: 6.875" W x 6" H (17.5 cm x 15.2 cm).

For a strikingly similar example of a head attached to a full body, please see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1979.206.1211: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/313386

Provenance: private southern California, USA collection, acquired between 1968 and 1970

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#149385

  • Condition: This is a fragment of a larger statue. Minor nicks to neck base, lips, headdress, and verso, with light softening to some finer details, otherwise intact and very good. Nice earthen deposits throughout.

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November 14, 2019 8:00 AM MST
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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