Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Jalisco, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A large, earthenware standing figure of a woman from the shaft tomb culture. She stands on wide feet, with a stout body, her hands pressed to her stomach. Her head is elongated, with a high hairline and an interesting, flattened form that probably represents the practice of skull-shaping in the society. Her face is well-depicted, with a long, straight nose and narrow eyes and mouth. She wears nothing except jewelry: a large nose ring, multiple earrings, a triple-banded necklace, and four bracelets on each arm above the elbow. She has the studded shoulder texture, made by pressing round dots of clay onto the body, that is commonly placed on Jalisco figures, but whose meaning/purpose is unknown - a form of armor? scarification? a mark of social status? Size: 5" L x 10.2" W x 19.5" H (12.7 cm x 25.9 cm x 49.5 cm)

Jalisco, located on Mexico's southwestern coast, was part of the shaft tomb culture during this time, along with neighbors in nearby Colima 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. Figures like this one were placed into the tombs; researchers believe that they were placed around the edges facing inward, as if in conversation with the dead.

Provenance: private Matrisciano collection, California, USA

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#120721

Repaired from multiple pieces, especially on the lower body. Face and much of the upper body are nicely intact. Manganese blooms over much of the body.