Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Colima, Protoclassic Period, ca. 100 BCE to 250 CE. A superb pottery figure of a shaman shown standing atop thick legs and large feet with arms at his sides. Displaying a flat, rectangular body, the ancient figure wears an elaborate ensemble comprised of a one-shouldered poncho and a skirt that falls to mid-shin, both skillfully incised with complex geometric motifs. His sizeable head presents a solemn visage with slit-form eyes, a prominent, curved nose, a straight mouth, and a square jaw, all flanked by a pair of elongated ears with square adornments. A broad band with a projecting horn - a typical shaman headdress - crowns his towering skull, while a striated coiffure extends down the back of his neck. Size: 6.8" W x 11.9" H (17.3 cm x 30.2 cm)

Colima, located on Mexico's southwestern coast, was during this time part of the shaft tomb culture, along with neighbors to the north in Jalisco and Nayarit. In this culture, the dead were buried down shafts - 3 to 20 meters deep - that were dug vertically or near vertically through the volcanic tuff that makes up the geology of the region. The base of the shaft would open into one or more horizontal chambers with a low ceiling. 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 figure made to be placed inside those mausoleums, perhaps to mediate between the worlds of the living and the dead.

Provenance: private Hidden Valley Lake, California, USA collection; ex-Litchfield Auctions, Litchfield, Connecticut, USA (May Auction, May 11, 2019, lot 190); ex-Arthur and Lilian Weiss, Little Deer Isle, Maine, USA

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#170499

A few expected nicks and abrasions, commensurate with age. Otherwise, intact and excellent with nice manganese deposits and impressive preservation of detail. Old collection label on foot.