Jalisco Pottery Seated Female Figure

**Originally Listed At $1500**

Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Jalisco, San Juanito, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. An exemplary bichrome terracotta seated figure with traits characteristic of San Juanito types, including attenuated limbs, an oversized elongated head, and a wide torso. She wears elaborate earrings, arm bands, and a skirt, but is otherwise nude, thus revealing her pendulous breasts. Her visage is characteristically abstract with slit eyes, a narrow nose with bulbous nostrils, and slightly parted lips. Her seemingly forlorn facial expression and overall pose - with chin resting upon the raised right knee, left hand on the chest, and right hand placed upon the bent knee - is one of resignation, sorrow, or perhaps exhaustion. Adorned in hues of vibrant orange and creamy beige under a lustrous burnish, this marvelous figure captures the humanity of the ancients in West Mexico. Size: 7" W x 11" H (17.8 cm x 27.9 cm)

Ancient West Mexico was home to a highly sophisticated culture that constructed earth mounds, ritual circles, and shaft tombs; most of what we know of them archaeologically comes from the figures, like this one, that were buried in their shaft tombs. However, there are clear differences between the Jalisco and other traditions (Colima and Nayarit) of shaft tomb builders, and today we do not believe that they were a single unified culture, despite their shared architectural traditions. Jalisco pieces like this one are distinguished by seated positions for their female figures and their large size. These figures would have been positioned facing outward from the walls of graves, as if in conversation with the deceased.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex- Hasso von Winning collection, California, USA, acquired from 1950 to 1970

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#161465
Condition Report: Collection label and collection number on base. Repaired from several pieces with restoration over break lines and area of base restored from new material. Expected surface wear with abraded areas commensurate with age. Otherwise, very nice with lovely earthen and manganese deposits throughout.