Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Jalisco, Ameca Gray type, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A fabulous, hand-built pottery figure of a kneeling female exhibiting a square body, stubbed arms projecting from broad shoulders, a bulging belly, and pointed breasts. Supported by a thick neck, her elongated head presents a pair of heavy-lidded eyes beneath arched brows, a sizable forehead, a sharp nose, a gently opened mouth bearing rows of incised teeth, and a pointed chin. A crisscross headband or headdress tops her stylized visage, just above 2 curved ears, each fit with an annular earspool. Attenuated lower legs extend from her wide hips, covered by a knee-length skirt, while a beaded necklace decorates her neck, featuring a pair of lengthy pendants on her verso. She is further adorned with raised, dotted shoulder pellets, characteristic of Jalisco pottery figures, which scholars have interpreted variously as armor or ritual scarification. Liberal remains of cream and russet hued pigments embellish scattered areas of this expressive figure! Size: 11.1" W x 15" H (28.2 cm x 38.1 cm)

Ancient West Mexico was home to a highly sophisticated culture that constructed earth mounds, ritual circles, and shaft tombs; most of what we know of them archaeologically comes from the figures like this one, that were buried in their shaft tombs. However, there are clear differences between the Jalisco and other traditions (Colima and Nayarit) of shaft tomb builders, and today we do not believe that they were a single unified culture, despite their shared architectural traditions. Jalisco pieces like this one are distinguished by seated positions for their female figures as well as their large size. These figures would have been positioned facing outward from the walls of graves, as if in conversation with the deceased.

Cf. Kan, Michael, Clement Meighan, and H.B. Nicholson. "Sculpture of Ancient West Mexico: Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima | A Catalogue of the Proctor Stafford Collection at the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art." Los Angeles Country Museum of Art, 1989, p. 109, fig. 69.

Provenance: private Kelley collection, Denver, Colorado, USA, acquired before 2000

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#168495

Repair and restoration to head and face. Chipping to proper left hand. Expected nicks and abrasions, commensurate with age. Otherwise, excellent with liberal remains of pigment and nice mineral deposits throughout. Collection label on verso.