Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Colima, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. Among the largest Colima flats we have ever seen, a hand-built terracotta standing statue known as a "gingerbread" figure, so named because of the flat presentation of the body. This figure, of a characteristically angular form with attenuated arms and legs, wears a single-shouldered tunic and skirt. The elongated head presents an expressive visage comprised of coffee bean shaped eyes, a protruding nose, and pursed lips - topped by a coiled, serpentine headdress with incised cross-hatching to represent snake skin. In addition, the figure is adorned by a nose ornament, shell-shaped earrings with perforations above for additional decoration, a choker with a long cylindrical bead pendant, and three rows of applied pellets on each arm. A magnificent example from this shaft tomb culture. Size: 19.125" H (48.6 cm); 19.625" H (49.8 cm) on included custom stand.
Colima, located on Mexico's southwestern coast, was during this time part of the shaft tomb culture, along with neighbors to the north in Jalisco and Nayarit. In this culture, the dead were buried down shafts - 3 to 20 meters deep - that were dug vertically or near vertically through the volcanic tuff that makes up the geology of the region. The base of the shaft would open into one or more horizontal chambers with a low ceiling. 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. This is a figural vessel made to be placed inside those mausoleums, perhaps to mediate between the worlds of the living and the dead.
Provenance: ex-Howard Rose Gallery, New York, USA; ex-Meza family collection, Whitier, California, USA, acquired 1960’s
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#144369
Condition
Repaired from about four pieces with restoration over the break lines. Scattered manganese deposits and root marks