Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Jalisco, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A fascinating ceramic sculpture, showing a group of six human figures, hands linked, standing around a double-headed serpent or avian figure atop a round platform. The figures have characteristic "sheepface" features such as coffee-bean-shaped eyes, pointed ears with round earspools, thin mouths, long noses, and tall foreheads. Ceramic scenes 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 terracotta offerings, like this enigmatic sculpture, placed alongside the walls facing inward, near the skulls. Size: 6.05" W x 4.1" H (15.4 cm x 10.4 cm)

Provenance: private southern California, USA collection, acquired in the 1970s to mid-1980s

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#140934

Repaired from several large pieces, with each of the figures reattached. These repairs are well done and generally unobtrusive.