Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Colima, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A very nice example of a seated, flat-style ceramic figure. The figure wears a skirt, armbands, and a necklace with three round pendants hanging from it; the figure also has a large headdress with incised decoration on it and presumably once had golden earrings based on the perforations through its ears. The body is broad, with huge shoulders that taper to a wide waist; the hands and feet are similarly large and swollen-looking. The head, in contrast, is relatively small, with small coffee-bean style eyes and mouth and even a relatively small nose for artwork from this culture. The figure is seated upon a small, low stool. Size: 6.95" W x 11" H (17.7 cm x 27.9 cm)
West Mexican shaft tomb figures like this one derive their names from the central architectural feature that we know of from this culture. These people would build generally rectangular vertical shafts down from the ground level down to narrow horizontal tunnels that led to one or more vaulted or rounded burial chambers. The geomorphology in the area means that these chambers are dug out of tepetate, a type of volcanic tuff material, which give the chambers a rough-edged look. Although the dimensions of the chambers vary considerably - some only large enough to hold a single burial and its offerings, others seem designed to hold entire lineages - the placement of burial goods like this hollow figure was very similar. Grouped with other hollow figures, and alongside clay bowls, and boxes, they were positioned around the body (or bodies), near the skull. Unfortunately, we lack the information we would need to understand what these figures were made for - do they represent everyday people, even individuals? Are they religious? Were they created to mediate between the living and the dead? Whatever their purpose, today they are beautiful artwork and reminders of the mysterious past.
Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection
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#131327
Condition
Neck and feet are repaired and restored, with overpainting along the restoration lines. This is unobtrusive and difficult to detect. Nice surface deposits. Part of stool that the figure sits on is lost but the figure sits well by itself.