Jalisco Pregnant Female Figure, ex-Sotheby's

Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Jalisco, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. An impressively large, seated figure of a pregnant woman presenting a thick body with both hands of her attenuated arms resting on her bulbous belly. She wears a skirt and a necklace with a large, hanging pendant that droops between her pointed breasts. Atop her head, with its elongated skull, is a thick headband that encircles her bulging brow. A trio of earrings is attached to each ear, which flank her stylized visage comprised of coffee bean-shaped eyes, a prominent nose, and a smiling, open mouth exposing 2 rows of teeth. Lovely pigments of beige and russet adorn her body. Size: 8.8" L x 6.4" W x 15.2" H (22.4 cm x 16.3 cm x 38.6 cm)

Jalisco, located on Mexico's southwestern coast, was during this time part of the shaft tomb culture, along with neighbors in 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. Within the tombs, they arrayed skeletons radially with their feet positioned inward, and clay offerings, like this one, placed alongside the walls facing inward, near the skulls. A large effigy like this one would most likely have flanked the entrance to a tomb in a way that archaeologists have interpreted as guarding. Some scholars have connected these dynamic sculptures of the living as a strong contrast to the skeletal remains whose space they shared, as if they mediated between the living and the dead.

This piece has been searched against the Art Loss Register database and has been cleared. The Art Loss Register maintains the world’s largest database of stolen art, collectibles, and antiques.

Provenance: ex-private Saint Petersburg, Florida, USA collection; ex-M.B. Abraham collection, Los Angeles, California USA, acquired in 2011; ex-Howard Nowes, New York City, New York, USA; ex-Irving Cohen, Esq. collection, New York City, New York, USA; ex-Sotheby's, New York, "Pre-Columbian Art" auction (November 23, 1998, lot 132)

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#167532
Condition Report: Head reattached at neck with minimal fill along break line. Some minor nicks and light abrasions to areas, as expected with age. Otherwise, excellent with nice remaining pigments and lovely manganese deposits throughout.