Pre-Columbian, Western Mexico, Colima, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A hand-built redware effigy vessel of an anthropomorphic figure. The broad figure stands on two squat legs with a tunic-like shirt jutting over the hips slightly. Long arms hold up an instrument to his chest, and his round face has stylized details; an incised line for a mouth, a protruding nose, and two slits for eyelids. A hood or simple headdress frames the face, and the opening to the interior cavity is at the back of the head. With his trancelike expression, perhaps this is a shaman engaged in a ritualistic ceremony. The item he holds has faint dotted motifs across the surface, and the shallow indentation at the end perhaps indicates he is playing a drum made from a gourd. A captivating vessel that undoubtedly played a part in spiritual rituals, and perhaps was buried as an offering or guide for the afterlife. Size: 6.25" W x 9" H (15.9 cm x 22.9 cm)

The people in the Colima region were part of the shaft tomb culture, along with neighbors to the north in Jalisco and Nayarit. In these cultures, the dead were buried in shafts tombs. 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. A shaman was a powerful member of Colima society, and an effigy vessel placed in a tomb would ensure the deceased’s spirit having a guide through the underworld.

Provenance: private Arcadia, California, USA collection, acquired prior to 2000

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#159552

Repair to front tunic with visible break line. Chip to front of shirt hem. Surface wear, minor nicks to peripheries commensurate with age. Mineral deposits, root marks, and faint pigmentation!