Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Jalisco, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. This is a striking "sheepface" pottery figure of a seated female; one leg is tucked under her skirt, and one hand is pressed to her neck, while the other holds a small, decorated bowl. She has a great deal of white-painted decoration and amazing huge earrings. In Jalisco 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. A figure like this one would have been placd around the edges of the tomb, looking in towards the human remains, acting as a mediary between the living above and the dead within. Size: 3.5" L x 6.8" W x 9.25" H (8.9 cm x 17.3 cm x 23.5 cm).

Provenance: Ex-Nikotovich collection, Denver, CO acquired before 1980

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#113082

Professionally repaired.