Nayarit Chinesco Polychrome Mother & Child on Litter

About Auction

Live

Fine Antiquities | Ethnographica | Fine Art

By Artemis Gallery

May 19, 2022

Set Reminder 2022-05-19 10:00:00 2022-05-19 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Fine Antiquities | Ethnographica | Fine Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/fine-antiquities-ethnographica-fine-art-9350
Featuring a very special collection of Fine Art from the Hollywood Hills, including Picasso & Rookwood ceramics! Also included are many fine examples of classical antiquities, ancient, and ethnographic art from cultures encompassing the globe. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

View Full Catalog (342)

• Lot Description
  Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Nayarit, Chinesco type, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. An endearing pottery sculpture of a mother and child of the Chinesco type seated atop an elevated chair resembling a litter or throne, both with legs laying before them and arms akimbo, all adorned in black, red, and beige pigments. The delightful duo gazes forth from slender eyes, each of their sizeable heads displays a stylized visage with a sloped nasal bridge, a protruding nose, and an incised smile, all flanked by a pair of annular earspools. Semicircular headdresses crown both figures; the mother's boasting elaborate decoration with a spiked periphery and dozens of applied clay dots. Angled slightly towards the mother, the child wears a tunic and a knee-length skirt, while the mother is dressed in a loincloth. Size: 6.9" W x 7.6" H (17.5 cm x 19.3 cm)
  
  This type of sculpture is known as Chinesco by collectors because of its stylistic similarities to Chinese art. 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. 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-S. and V. Friedman collection, New York City, New York, USA, acquired in the 1960s
  
  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.
  
  #172107

  Condition

  Proper back right leg of chair has been reattached with some restoration over break lines. Light surface wear with nicks and abrasions in areas. Some stable fissures to waist of mother. Otherwise, figures are intact and piece is excellent with nice remaining pigments.
• Shipping Info

  • All shipping is handled in-house for your convenience. Your invoice from Artemis Gallery will include shipping calculation instructions. If in doubt, please inquire BEFORE bidding for estimated shipping costs for individual items.

• Buyer's Premium
  • 26.50 %