**First Time At Auction**

Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Nayarit, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. An intimidating pottery warrior fiercely wielding his battle club in both hands, as though to defend the tomb in which he was placed. Heavily adorned in attire indicative of shamanism, he wears a biconical helmet, a prominent nasal ornament, several ear cuffs, and a barrel-shaped cuirass with his phallus projecting below. Intricately painted decoration envelops his surface, mixing with manganese blooms to create a hypnotic presentation. He leans slightly forward, bending his legs to sit upon a spike emanating from his posterior, yet still appearing ready to strike at any moment. Size: 4.6" W x 9.6" H (11.7 cm x 24.4 cm)

Ceramic figures like this one are the only remains that we have today of a sophisticated and unique culture in West Mexico. They made no above-ground monuments or sculptures that we know of, which is in strong contrast to developments elsewhere in ancient Mesoamerica. Instead, their tombs were their lasting works of art: skeletons arrayed radially with their feet positioned inward, and clay offerings, like this one, placed alongside the walls facing inward, near the skulls. Some scholars have noted that these dynamic sculptures mediated between the living and the deceased.

Provenance: private Charlotte, North Carolina, USA collection, acquired in August 2005; ex-Encino, California, USA collection; ex-Stendahl Gallery, Los Angeles, California, USA

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#176962

Expected surface wear commensurate with age, but otherwise intact and excellent. Nice remaining pigments and great manganese blooms throughout.