Monumental Ixtlan del Rio Couple, Nose Rings, Geometric
Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Nayarit, Ixtlan del Rio, ca. 100 BCE – 250 CE. A matched pair of large seated figures, male and female, modeled in burnished orangeware with legs crossed and arms drawn across the torso. Both wear twisted headbands, multiple nose rings, beaded armlets and elaborate spiral ear ornaments. The woman is dressed in a knee-length skirt and cradles a bowl in her right hand; the man wears shorts with a frontal loincloth flap and holds a cigar-like object in his left. Ocher, black and white geometric painting covers the red-orange ground, echoing textile patterns and body decoration. Mineral deposits veil parts of the surface. Such paired figures were placed in shaft tombs, likely as ancestral or household companions for the dead. Male figure: 17.25" H (43.8 cm H); Female figure: 17.75" H (45.1 cm H).
Ixtlan del Rio is the type site for the most distinctive Nayarit figural tradition, a hollow ceramic sculpture with pinched, aquiline features, hooked noses pierced for multiple rings, and layered ear ornaments built up from coiled clay. Figures of this scale were made for the deep shaft-and-chamber tombs of West Mexico, where the dead were interred with elaborate assemblages of ceramic people, animals, and architectural models. Male and female pairs are the most sought form: they appear to represent a couple of rank, the woman with a serving vessel, the man with a smoking implement or ceremonial staff, together suggesting hospitality, lineage, and the continuity of the household beyond death.
The painted geometry across the shoulders and back reproduces woven cloth and painted or tattooed body decoration, a rare record of West Mexican dress that survives nowhere in the archaeological textile record.
Provenance: Private New England Collection, acquired from Anthropos Gallery, about 2011, ex. Harry Franklin Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA., 1962; Leonard Kaplan, Laguna Beach, CA., 1963 & Dr. Mac McLasky and Robert High, 1963 until 2011.
SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700.
PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.
Item #
73038
Condition
Strong areas of mineral deposits on their surfaces. The heads have been reattached with restoration over the break lines. The male has been repaired from approximately six large original pieces with restoration over the break lines. The female has been repaired from approximately twenty-five pieces with restoration over the break lines, with resurfacing to her back and skirt.
Buyer's Premium
30%
Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Nayarit, Ixtlan del Rio, ca. 100 BCE – 250 CE. A matched pair of large seated figures, male and female, modeled in burnished orangeware with legs crossed and arms drawn across the torso. Both wear twisted headbands, multiple nose rings, beaded armlets and elaborate spiral ear ornaments. The woman is dressed in a knee-length skirt and cradles a bowl in her right hand; the man wears shorts with a frontal loincloth flap and holds a cigar-like object in his left. Ocher, black and white geometric painting covers the red-orange ground, echoing textile patterns and body decoration. Mineral deposits veil parts of the surface. Such paired figures were placed in shaft tombs, likely as ancestral or household companions for the dead. Male figure: 17.25" H (43.8 cm H); Female figure: 17.75" H (45.1 cm H).
Ixtlan del Rio is the type site for the most distinctive Nayarit figural tradition, a hollow ceramic sculpture with pinched, aquiline features, hooked noses pierced for multiple rings, and layered ear ornaments built up from coiled clay. Figures of this scale were made for the deep shaft-and-chamber tombs of West Mexico, where the dead were interred with elaborate assemblages of ceramic people, animals, and architectural models. Male and female pairs are the most sought form: they appear to represent a couple of rank, the woman with a serving vessel, the man with a smoking implement or ceremonial staff, together suggesting hospitality, lineage, and the continuity of the household beyond death.
The painted geometry across the shoulders and back reproduces woven cloth and painted or tattooed body decoration, a rare record of West Mexican dress that survives nowhere in the archaeological textile record.
Provenance: Private New England Collection, acquired from Anthropos Gallery, about 2011, ex. Harry Franklin Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA., 1962; Leonard Kaplan, Laguna Beach, CA., 1963 & Dr. Mac McLasky and Robert High, 1963 until 2011.
SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700.
PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.
Item #
73038
Condition
Strong areas of mineral deposits on their surfaces. The heads have been reattached with restoration over the break lines. The male has been repaired from approximately six large original pieces with restoration over the break lines. The female has been repaired from approximately twenty-five pieces with restoration over the break lines, with resurfacing to her back and skirt.
Buyer's Premium
30%
