Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Nayarit, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A seated pottery figure of a mother with a child draped over her shoulder. The mother wears a prominent nose ring, a rounded headdress, earrings, and a wonderfully accented skirt. Original red pigment remains prominent on the figure, with design elements still visible on skirt and chest areas. Size: 5.2" W x 6.75" H (13.2 cm x 17.1 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. 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: ex Stein collection, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA, acquired prior to 2010
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#164782
Condition
Fully intact and in excellent condition. Surface wear commensurate with age. Original pigments and design elements still visible.