Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Jalisco, San Juanito, Protoclassic, ca 100 BCE to 250 CE. A hand-modeled, polychrome terracotta female figure, sitting upright in an expressive pose, holding her hands to her chest - between her perky breasts and above her large pregnant belly. This expecting lady is dressed in a skirt with a red band emphasizing her pregnant belly and a black-striped caplike headdress, and is further adorned by elaborate tasseled/feathered or shell-inspired earrings and dozens of round cicatrices (ritual scarification marks) studding her shoulders. Her visage is also decorated with black striations over the chin area - perhaps indicative of tattoos or face paint - and is just as expressive as her hand gestures, with partially closed eyes and an open mouth as if singing, chanting, or praying. All is delineated in red and black against a buff ground. Size: 7.5" H (19 cm)

West Mexican shaft tomb figures like this example derive their names from the central architectural feature that we know of from this culture. 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. These people would build generally rectangular vertical or near-vertical shafts deep into the ground level - usually about 3 to 20 meters deep - through tepetate, the volcanic tuff that makes up the geology of the region, to narrow horizontal tunnels that led to one or more vaulted or rounded burial chambers.

These shafts were almost always dug beneath a dwelling, probably a family home, and were most likely 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. Grouped with other figures, and alongside clay bowls, and boxes, figures like this one were positioned around the body (or bodies), near the skull.

Unfortunately, we lack the necessary information to fully understand what these figures were made for - Did they represent everyday people, even individuals? Were they religious? Were they created to mediate between the living and the dead? Whatever their purpose, today they are beautiful works of art as well as reminders of the mysterious past.

Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-private lifetime collection of Dr. Saul Tuttman and Dr. Gregory Siskind, New York, New York, USA

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#137503

Normal surface wear commensurate with age. Nice remains of red and black painted details. Some root marks and deposits.