Nayarit Chinesco Type C Pottery Seated Male Figure

Pre-Columbian, Western Mexico, Nayarit, Chinesco, Type C, Protoclassic period, ca. 100 BCE to 250 CE. An impressive pottery figure of a male shown seated with legs bent before him and arms crossed and resting on knees, all adorned in beige and black pigment on a red-slip ground. Hunching over, the ancient figure displays a slender body with wide hips and thick legs. His huge head presents a somber expression with heavy-lidded eyes, a curved nose adorned with a septum ring, and a straight mouth, all capped by a helmet-like coiffure or headdress with a slender headband and chinstrap. Though nude, the fascinating figure wears 6 armbands on each arm, as well as a pair of beaded collar necklaces at the top of his chest. Size: 5.5" W x 9.7" H (14 cm x 24.6 cm)

This "Chinesco" figure of the Lagunillas sub-style from the Nayarit region, is notable for the smooth burnished surface, painted ornamentation, and entranced expression. This style of sculpture is known as Chinesco by collectors because of its stylistic similarities to Chinese art. Clay figures like this one are some of the only remains that we have today of a sophisticated and unique culture in West Mexico - they left no above-ground monuments or sculptures, at least that we know of, which is in strong contrast to developments elsewhere in ancient Mesoamerica. Instead, their tombs were their lasting works of art: skeletons arrayed radially with their feet positioned inward, and clay offerings, like this one, placed alongside the walls facing inward, near the skulls. An effigy like this one may 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.

Provenance: ex-Saint Petersburg, Florida, USA collection; ex-private New York City, New York, USA collection, from the 1970s

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#168550
Condition Report: Expected nicks and abrasions, commensurate with age. Possible areas of repainting. Otherwise, intact and excellent with nice remaining details.