Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Nayarit, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. An incredibly well-preserved pottery woman figure, standing upright on a pair of thick feet with a skirt around her waist, and a bare chest revealing nubbin breasts. Her arms are folded inward, applied arm bands decorating her upper arms, and the broad shoulders support an elongated head with a prominent nose, septum piercing, earrings, and impressed eyes and mouth. The terracotta surface is slipped in a warm red with white and ochre yellow painted into linear motifs on her skirt and highlighting her face, headdress, and armbands. Size: 6" L x 2" W x 8.8" H (15.2 cm x 5.1 cm x 22.4 cm)

Nayarit, 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 Colima. In this culture, the dead were buried down shafts which 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 pottery figure was likley created to be placed inside those mausoleums, perhaps to mediate between the worlds of the living and the dead.

Provenance: ex-Marc Amiguet Schmitt estate, Amiguet's Ancient Art, Evansville, Indiana, USA, acquired prior to January 1, 2010

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.

We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#174849

Intact and excellent! Some fading to surface but overall great remains of painted pigments and manganese blooms throughout!