Jalisco Ameca Pottery Warrior Figure w/ Barrel Armor

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Ancient & Ethnographic Art Through The Ages

By Artemis Gallery

Feb 10, 2022

Set Reminder 2022-02-10 10:00:00 2022-02-10 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Ancient & Ethnographic Art Through The Ages https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/ancient-ethnographic-art-through-the-ages-8873
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• Lot Description
  Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Jalisco, Ameca type, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A hand-built pottery warrior figure of sizable form that stands atop thick, delineated legs and flattened feet. The imposing man presents with a nude lower body, his upper body covered in a barrel-shaped cuirass with a flared top rim, and he brandishes a lengthy club with both hands in a defensive pose. His enlarged head exhibits lozenge-shaped eyes surrounded by thick eyelids, a thin, aquiline nose, full lips, and tab-shaped ears, all beneath a bell-shaped helmet with a central crest. Remains of white and black pigment across the face and club suggest this figure was elaborately decorated at one time. Size: 9.25" W x 14.1" H (23.5 cm x 35.8 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 this one were positioned around the body (or bodies) near the skull, and warriors like this example were meant as a means of spiritual protection from evil spirits.
  
  Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-Judith Meister collection, Highland Park, Illinois, USA, acquired between the 1950s and 1994, thence by descent
  
  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.
  
  PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.
  
  Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.
  
  #169715

  Condition

  Repair to helmet body and brim along left side, with possible reattachment to top of head, and some restoration along break lines. Repair and restoration to large portion of barrel armor, shoulder, arm, and club all along left side, with resurfacing and overpainting along new material and break lines. Abrasions, small spalls, and encrustations across most surfaces, with fading to original pigment as shown. Great preservation to overall form and light remains of pigment across most of upper body and head. Old inventory label beneath left foot.
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