Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Colima, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. An impressive terracotta shaman depicted standing and holding a long staff or walking stick. The mysterious figure presents a rectangular body with petite nipples and prominent knee caps. Looking upwards, the figure's visage features almond-shaped eyes under an arched brow, a naturalistic nose, and a straight mouth held slightly open. A sizable curved shaman horn protrudes from the top of the head as two elongated ears with perforated lobes embellish either side of the head. The shaman's body is embellished with stripes of creamy beige paint. Much of the religious practice of this culture and others in Mesoamerica involved shamans/priests entering an altered state, often through the use of hallucinogenic substances. The figure's blank eyes and skyward-tilted head suggest such an entranced state. Size: 8.75" W x 17.75" H (22.2 cm x 45.1 cm)

Colima, 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 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 scholars posit that they were used as family mausoleums, housing the remains of many related individuals. This is a figure made to be placed inside those mausoleums, perhaps to mediate between the worlds of the living and the deceased.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection;ex-private T. Misenhimer collection, Beverly Hills, California, USA, collected from 1970 to 2008

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#161497

Collection label on foot. Repaired from several pieces with restoration over break lines. Missing left hand. A few light scratches and abrasions in areas. Otherwise, excellent with lovely remaining pigments.