Mexico, Jalisco
100 BC–250 AD
Ceramic
Height: 13 in (33 cm), Width: 10 in (25.4 cm)
Provenance: Jim Bodispaugh, Berkeley, California, collected 1960s
The Jalisco ceramic tradition of West Mexico produced a range of figure types placed as funerary offerings in shaft tombs, among them seated female figures of considerable scale and expressive modeling. These figures were among the West Mexican works that captured the attention of twentieth-century modernist sculptors, with Henry Moore and others acknowledging the formal influence of Pre-Columbian ceramic figures on their own development. The combination of monumental volume, organic surface, and direct modeling in Jalisco seated females gave them a presence that resonated strongly with mid-century sculptural values.
This figure sits with one arm raised to the head in a pose of alertness or contemplation, with a broad torso, full rounded forms, and a face with defined features beneath a flat cap or headdress. The surface carries a rich reddish-brown slip with darker patination consistent with burial context, and the modeling at this scale reflects the investment of a skilled Jalisco workshop. The 1960s Berkeley provenance places this piece within the pre-restriction collecting generation for West Mexican material.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Mexico, Jalisco
100 BC–250 AD
Ceramic
Height: 13 in (33 cm), Width: 10 in (25.4 cm)
Provenance: Jim Bodispaugh, Berkeley, California, collected 1960s
The Jalisco ceramic tradition of West Mexico produced a range of figure types placed as funerary offerings in shaft tombs, among them seated female figures of considerable scale and expressive modeling. These figures were among the West Mexican works that captured the attention of twentieth-century modernist sculptors, with Henry Moore and others acknowledging the formal influence of Pre-Columbian ceramic figures on their own development. The combination of monumental volume, organic surface, and direct modeling in Jalisco seated females gave them a presence that resonated strongly with mid-century sculptural values.
This figure sits with one arm raised to the head in a pose of alertness or contemplation, with a broad torso, full rounded forms, and a face with defined features beneath a flat cap or headdress. The surface carries a rich reddish-brown slip with darker patination consistent with burial context, and the modeling at this scale reflects the investment of a skilled Jalisco workshop. The 1960s Berkeley provenance places this piece within the pre-restriction collecting generation for West Mexican material.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
