Mexico, Michoacan
400 BC–100 AD
Ceramic with painted decoration
Height: 5⅜ in (13.7 cm), Width: 3 in (7.6 cm)
Provenance: Monique and Albert J. Grant, New York, acquired 1950s–1960s
Female figures from the Preclassic ceramic tradition of Michoacan, West Mexico, are distinguished by their broad disc ear ornaments, elaborately modeled coiffure, and the ruffled collar or necklace elements that appear across multiple examples from this regional tradition. These figures were placed as funerary offerings in shaft tomb contexts and are understood to represent women of status, possibly in ritual or ceremonial roles associated with the burial complex. The Grant collection, New York, held several examples of this Michoacan type, acquired during the 1950s and 1960s when this material was first entering the serious American market.
This seated female figure displays large circular ear ornaments, a detailed hairstyle, and a prominent multi-strand ruffled collar in red painted ceramic applied across the chest and shoulders. Traces of red and orange painted decoration are preserved across the collar and body, indicating the figure was originally fully polychromed. The modeling of the face, with its composed downcast expression, and the careful rendering of the collar ornament give this figure a quiet authority characteristic of the best Michoacan production of the period.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Mexico, Michoacan
400 BC–100 AD
Ceramic with painted decoration
Height: 5⅜ in (13.7 cm), Width: 3 in (7.6 cm)
Provenance: Monique and Albert J. Grant, New York, acquired 1950s–1960s
Female figures from the Preclassic ceramic tradition of Michoacan, West Mexico, are distinguished by their broad disc ear ornaments, elaborately modeled coiffure, and the ruffled collar or necklace elements that appear across multiple examples from this regional tradition. These figures were placed as funerary offerings in shaft tomb contexts and are understood to represent women of status, possibly in ritual or ceremonial roles associated with the burial complex. The Grant collection, New York, held several examples of this Michoacan type, acquired during the 1950s and 1960s when this material was first entering the serious American market.
This seated female figure displays large circular ear ornaments, a detailed hairstyle, and a prominent multi-strand ruffled collar in red painted ceramic applied across the chest and shoulders. Traces of red and orange painted decoration are preserved across the collar and body, indicating the figure was originally fully polychromed. The modeling of the face, with its composed downcast expression, and the careful rendering of the collar ornament give this figure a quiet authority characteristic of the best Michoacan production of the period.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
