By Nayarit Culture
Located in Dallas, TX
Nayarit Fertility Female Figure With Child
Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Nayarit,
Ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE.
A seated terracotta female figure from the shaft tomb tradition, shown cradling an infant over her right shoulder - likely a symbolic representation of fertility, maternity, and the continuity of life. This expressive red-slipped sculpture is boldly modeled with exaggerated limbs and stylized facial features, impressed eyes, a broad nose adorned with a septum piercing, and ear ornaments. Her elaborate coiffure is incised with vertical striations and rises into a high crest, pierced at the top with a vent hole connecting to the hollow interior. Manganese blooms across the surface attest to its long burial. Such figures were ritually interred in shaft tombs to accompany the dead, offering symbolic protection or ensuring rebirth in the afterlife.
Dimensions: 4 Inches Wide x 8.4 Inches Height (10.2 cm x 21.1 cm)
Condition: Presents beautifully with restorations to the head.
Provenance: Collection of Y. Kayvan, Los Angeles, California, USA, acquired from a Los Angeles, California, USA gallery acquisition dates range from the late 1990s to 2005
Legal to acquire under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14.
This Nayarit Figure...
Category
15th Century and Earlier Mexican Pre-Columbian Antique Pottery Decorative Objects