Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Nayarit, San Sebastian type, Protoclassic Period, ca. 100 BCE to 250 CE. A sizable pottery figure depicting a nude male figure sitting atop a 2-legged bench. The delineated legs stretch out in front of the planar torso and petite genitalia while he holds one arm atop his thigh and the other up to his mouth. The enlarged head features impressed eyes, a bulbous nose, a several ringlets adorning each ear, all beneath a coiffure with rows of hair arranged going front to back. The stone-burnished surfaces are adorned with red-orange pigment that is typical for figural artistry of this region. Size: 9" L x 8" W x 17" H (22.9 cm x 20.3 cm x 43.2 cm)
Clay figures like this one are the only remains that we have today of a sophisticated and unique culture in West Mexico - they made no above-ground monuments or sculptures, at least that we know of, which is 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. A large effigy like this one would most likely have flanked the entrance to a tomb in a way that archaeologists have interpreted as guarding. 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 New York, New York, USA collection; ex-private New York, New York, USA collection, acquired early 2000s, collection #109K
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#187369
Condition
Professional repair and restoration, with resurfacing and overpainting along new material and break lines. Abrasions and fading to pigment, with chips in scattered areas, otherwise in great condition. Nice size and presentation!