This figure belongs to a group of solid, hand-sculpted figures from the Remojadas region of Pre-Columbian Veracruz, Mexico. Although it is difficult to say for sure in the absence of the full figure, the elaborate serpent headdress suggests the figure was originally a ceremonial dancer representing a warrior. Note the use of bitumen, a thick tar-like form of petroleum, that was used to highlight details like the dancer's mouth and the serpent's eyes.
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Although Pre-Columbian Costa Rica is best known for gold and jade, the Atlantic Highlands region in particular has a long history of carving substantial statues from the volcanic rock that is common in the region. This example depicts a kneeling figure making a large, box-shaped offering. Little is known about the particular cultures that inhabited the area; as many as 25 distinct cultural groups developed in Costa Rica with their own unique characteristics. However, the widespread practice of c ...click for details
Conjoined bodies or double heads are common motifs in Pre-Columbian West Mexico thought to represent duality or transformation. This small jar shows two figures whose body forms a small, round jar with a narrow opening on top. The posture of the figures and the positioning of their hands is ambiguous, but it appears that each is trying to push away from the jar and break free from each other.
This Chupicuaro "pretty lady" figure is noteworthy in several respects. First, she is elaborately decorated with applique work of a higher quality than is typical for this type of figure. Second, and most importantly, she is quite large for the type (3.67" tall) and completely intact, a rarity for a type of figure most often plowed up with tools in the course of farming or construction!
Although abstract in form, this adorable Colima figure shows a child sitting on the shoulders of a parent, likely his/her mother. Mother and child group figures like this represented simple domestic scenes of everyday people, although this basic theme could be expanded upon to emphasize fertility. (See Townsend's "Ancient West Mexico," pg 121 for a mother figure covered in 87 tiny children!)
This is an uncommon example of a Nayarit shaft figure of a standing pregnant woman. She is rendered standing with a protruding belly (see profile photos) and large breasts. As is typical with Nayarit figures, little attention is paid to the hands and feet, which are quite rudimentary. However, the figures stands stable and displays nicely regardless.
Nayarit is one of the modern states in Mexico, located in the we ...click for details
This interesting piece is a fragment from a burner, a common domestic object found in household debris from the sprawling residential area around ancient Teotihuacan. As you can discern from the slope of the attached remnant bowl, the prong with the adorno would have been mounted on the inside rim of the bowl with the face oriented outward. Three of these prongs would have been spaced at even intervals around the bowl, with a hole running down the length of each. In daily use, a stick would have ...click for details
This choice anthropomorphic effigy figure comes from the Nariņo region of southern Colombia. The first archaeological excavations in Nariņo occurred barely 30 years ago, so little is conclusively known about this area. What does seem evident is that three distinct cultural groups occupied the region: the Piartal, Tuza, and Capuli. However, we typically see the output of these three cultures inappropriately lumped together as generic Nariņo on dealers' websites. This figure was produced by th ...click for details
