Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Nayarit, Protoclassic period, ca. 100 BCE to 250 CE. A large and impressive clay figure of a nude female shown standing on two thick-set legs. The stocky figure displays square shoulders and attenuated arms bent at the elbow to rest her articulated hands on a bulging belly, just below her pointed breasts and above her genitalia. Three hemispherical bumps are featured on the corner of each of her shoulders, perhaps representing armor or ceremonial scarification (shoulder pellets). Her ovoid head exhibits two almond-shaped eyes encircled in maroon face paint above a sharp nose with intricately incised nostrils and a sizable, ovoid mouth held open as though letting out a deep groan or wail - somewhat reminiscent of Edvard Munch's "The Scream". Each of her naturalistic ears display drill holes, likely for hanging ornaments. Capped with a beige headband, her burgundy hair falls midway down her back. Her body is painted a vibrant hue of russet and boasts a lustrous burnish. A remarkable example from Nayarit culture! Size: 9.25" W x 22" H (23.5 cm x 55.9 cm)
Clay figures like this one are the only remains that we have today of this sophisticated and unique culture in West Mexico. The Nayarit 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 posited that these dynamic sculptures of the living provided a strong contrast to the skeletal remains whose space they shared, and have suggested that they mediated between the living and the dead.
Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-private T. Misenhimer collection, Beverly Hills, California, USA, collected from 1970 to 2008
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#161416
Condition
Collection label on proper right foot and felt pads on both feet. Expected surface wear commensurate with age and char marks on foot and belly, as shown. Expertly repaired with break lines only visible upon very close examination.