Huge / Rare Colima Pottery Seated Flat Figure

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Clearance Sale - Ancient / Ethnographic Art

By Artemis Gallery

Aug 16, 2018

Set Reminder 2018-08-16 10:00:00 2018-08-16 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Clearance Sale - Ancient / Ethnographic Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/clearance-sale---ancient-ethnographic-art-3368
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• Lot Description
  **Originally Listed At $700**
  
  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
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
  We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
  
  #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.
• Shipping Info

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