Lot 208B
Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Nayarit or Jalisco, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A bichrome terracotta figure presenting a corpulent physique, sitting with bent knees and arms folded beneath the chin, and leaning forward dramatically so as to reveal a bony spinal column. The sex of the figure is difficult to determine as there is no delineated genitalia; however, the visage on a characteristically oversized head is quite expressive, presenting bulging eyes, a pronounced nose, and what appears to be a death bubble in the open mouth. Though nude, the figure is wearing a caplike headdress with a shell ornament atop the forehead and elaborate ear ornaments. Size: 8.75" H (22.2 cm)
Clay figures like this one are the only remains that we have today of sophisticated ancient West Mexican cultures; scholars know of no above-ground monuments for these peoples, 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. 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 Honolulu, Hawaii, USA collection
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#149543
- Condition: Lower body (from the waist down and including the legs) repaired from multiple pieces with restoration over the break lines. Loss to periphery of opening behind the head. Normal surface wear commensurate with age. Scattered deposits grace the surface.
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