Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Jalisco, Ameca-Etzatlan style, Protoclassic Period, ca. 100 BCE to 250 CE. An exceptional hollow-bodied pottery female figure depicted kneeling with a skirt covering her thighs, all enveloped in a creamy beige slip. She poses seductively with her left arm reaching behind her head and her right hand stretched outwards, while her globular breasts emphasize her powerful feminine physique. Supported by square shoulders, her elongated head exhibits a calm countenance of deep-set, almond-shaped eyes, a sharp nose, and full lips held open as though mid-chant, all flanked by a pair of large ears. A helmet-like coiffure caps her head. Size: 15" H (38.1 cm)
West Mexican shaft tomb figures like this example derive their names from the central architectural feature that we know of from this culture. Jalisco, located on Mexico's southwestern coast, was part of the shaft tomb culture during this time, along with neighbors in nearby Colima and Nayarit. These people would build generally rectangular vertical or near-vertical shafts down from the ground level - usually about 3 to 20 meters deep - through tepetate, the volcanic tuff that makes up the geology of the region, to narrow horizontal tunnels that led to one or more vaulted or rounded burial chambers.
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. Figures like this one were placed into the tombs; researchers believe that they were placed around the edges facing inward, as if in conversation with the dead. Grouped with other figures, and alongside clay bowls, and boxes, figures like this one were positioned around the body (or bodies), near the skull.
Unfortunately, we lack the necessary information to fully understand what these figures were made for - did they represent everyday people, even individuals? Were 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 New York, New York, USA collection; ex-J. Ohara collection, Texas, USA, acquired in the 1960s to 1970s
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#167971
Condition
Repaired at base and skirt. Root marks on surface. Otherwise, excellent with great remains cream slip pigment and scattered mineral deposits.