Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Nayarit, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A handsome hand-built and highly burnished terracotta figure shown with a recognizably somber attitude and a traditional pose of mourning. The nude figure sits with both legs outstretched and arms folded as the elbows rest on the knees. A series of raised dots representing ceremonial scarification adorns each shoulder, while an applied collar necklace rests below the head. An opening on the top of the figure's back serves as a vent hole for the firing process. Capped with an elaborate coiffure or headdress comprised of three striated cords, the ancient figure's woeful visage is further embellished with impressed eyes, a large nose with a septum adornment, and an open, wailing mouth, all flanked by two ears adorned with embellishments. The body is painted with deep red and black pigments. Size: 3.625" W x 5.5" H (9.2 cm x 14 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: private San Francisco, California, USA collection, acquired from 1970s to 2000s
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#136869
Condition
Collection label on bottom. Proper left foot and nose reattached with restoration over break lines. Expected nicks/chips and abrasions, commensurate with age. Otherwise, excellent with impressive remaining pigments.