Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Jaina/Campeche region, Maya, Late Classic Period, ca. 600 to 900 CE. So mesmerizing, this fine hand-built pottery figure depicts a Maya lord standing with feet apart and wearing a loin cloth and sash as well as an elaborate, serpent-like headdress. He also presents a pectoral embellishment on his chest. The elite figure's visage is one of focused concentration or prayer with almond-shaped eyes and heavy lids, a noble prominent nose, slightly parted full lips, incised bangs flanking his brow, and annular earspools ornamenting his slender ears. Liberal traces of red pigment remain and accentuate this dignified example of Maya Jaina artistry. Size: 3.125" W x 7.5" H (7.9 cm x 19 cm); 8.75" H (22.2 cm) on included custom stand.

Jaina figures, from an island off the Yucatan peninsula, are noted for their lifelike faces and their immense detail. Scholars believe that these figures probably represented actual people and were produced in Campeche and brought to Jaina Island to be buried with the deceased. Fascinatingly, the people around Jaina are the only people in southeastern Mesoamerica who put human figures into graves - everywhere else in the region, figures have only been found in domestic contexts. The Spaniard Diego de Landa, who recorded details of Maya life shortly after the Spanish Conquest, wrote that the artists who created pieces like this one lived lives of religious isolation and ritual, both fasting and abstaining.

This piece has been tested using thermoluminescence (TL) analysis and has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full report will accompany purchase.

This piece has been searched against the Art Loss Register database and has been cleared. The Art Loss Register maintains the world’s largest database of stolen art, collectibles, and antiques.

Provenance: ex-William and Jane Frazer, Aspen, Colorado, USA, acquired 1980s; ex-Art Institute of Chicago, Primitive Art from Chicago Collections, November 16, 1960, lot 40; ex-Mr. and Mrs. Claude Bentley collection, Chicago, Illinois, USA

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.

#166624

Repair to head at neckline, proper left arm at shoulder, elbow, and wrist, right arm on forearm, and right leg at knee, with small chips and light adhesive residue along break lines. Possible restoration to nose bridge and heel of left foot, but nearly invisible and expertly executed if so. Losses to chest ornament and several headdress elements as shown. Light encrustations and fading to pigment. Great preservation to overall form. Figure is attached to display stand and cannot be removed. Old exhibition label beneath display stand. Old inventory number written in black behind waistband. TL drill holes behind head and on inside curve of proper left thigh.