Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Nayarit, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A fantastic earthenware depiction of a pregnant woman, portrayed sitting with her feet to one side and her hands resting on her stomach. She wears a skirt, two armlets studded with decorative balls, and a thick, choker-style necklace. Her face is hauntingly detailed, with a large nose, eyes set into heavy lids, and a lifelike, open mouth that gives the impression that the woman is about to speak. She has a triangular nose ring and a two large earrings, both well-sculpted with fine detail. Incised lines form hair on top of her head, and she wears a thin headband around her hairline. A really fine example of one of the most famous pre-Columbian sculptural styles. Size: 10.5" W x 15.5" H (26.7 cm x 39.4 cm)

Nayarit, located on Mexico's southwestern coast, was during this time part of the shaft tomb culture, along with neighbors to the north in Jalisco and Colima. 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. This is a figure made to be placed inside those mausoleums, perhaps to mediate between the worlds of the living and the dead.

Provenance: private collection of Lupita Tovar, silent screen actress of the 1930s, Bel-Air, California, USA

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#124895

Lower body has been repaired, with overpainting along restoration lines. Excellent remaining detail and manganese deposits over much of the surface.