Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Nayarit, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A polychrome earthenware gable roofed maquette of a house that presents an open facade so that we can see its charming inhabitants - two couples sitting inside the house, one couple sitting on the extended porch slightly in front of the overhang, and a female sitting beside a puppy who lies prone before a covered pot or horno. Note that several of the figures are putting hands to mouths as if eating some tasty vittles. Extensive red, white, and black painted details adorn the traditional double-peaked rooftop, edifice walls, as well as the figures. A wonderful vernacular house occupied by a quaint extended family and/or friends from this shaft tomb culture! Extremely rare ! Size: 6" L x 6" W x 8.5" H (15.2 cm x 15.2 cm x 21.6 cm); 10.375" H (26.4 cm) on included custom stand.

According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's discussion concerning a similar Nayarit house, "In depicting both activities and locale, these feasting scenes hint at their social meaning. Following a rupture in the society, such as the death of the head of a community, large gatherings like those shown in the models would have been used to consolidate the community and the power of the new leader. Similar to the feasts themselves, the models clarify the connection between the sacred and the civic, the ritual and the quotidian, and in doing so underscore the domestic basis for all aspects of Nayarit society and belief." (James Doyle, Joane Pillsbury, and Patricia Sarro, 2015 - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/319227)

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-private T. Misenhimer collection, Hollywood, California, USA, famous Hollywood film producer

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#133796

Repaired from multiple pieces, but all original. Expected surface wear with losses to pigment and abraded areas commensurate with age. Scattered manganese deposits. House is not attached to the wooden stand.