Mexico, Michoacan
400–100 BC
Ceramic
Height: 3½ in (8.9 cm), Width: 2¼ in (5.7 cm)
Provenance: Monique and Albert J. Grant, New York, acquired 1950s–1960s
Conjoined couple figures are among the most distinctive and least common ceramic types produced by the shaft tomb cultures of West Mexico, with examples known from Michoacan, Colima, and Jalisco traditions. The embrace or lateral joining of two figures into a single ceramic body is understood to represent a paired relationship of social, ritual, or funerary significance, and the type has attracted particular scholarly and collector attention for its formal invention and emotional directness. Michoacan examples occupy a regional position within the broader West Mexican corpus, with a ceramic vocabulary that overlaps with neighboring traditions while retaining its own character.
This small conjoined pair depicts two standing figures with arms around each other, with individualized facial features, defined coiffure, and surface detail rendered with the directness characteristic of Michoacan Preclassic production. The ceramic surface carries an earth tone patina consistent with burial context, and the joining of the two bodies is fully integrated into the sculptural form. The Grant collection, New York, acquired in the 1950s and 1960s, represents one of the early named American collections for this category of West Mexican material.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Mexico, Michoacan
400–100 BC
Ceramic
Height: 3½ in (8.9 cm), Width: 2¼ in (5.7 cm)
Provenance: Monique and Albert J. Grant, New York, acquired 1950s–1960s
Conjoined couple figures are among the most distinctive and least common ceramic types produced by the shaft tomb cultures of West Mexico, with examples known from Michoacan, Colima, and Jalisco traditions. The embrace or lateral joining of two figures into a single ceramic body is understood to represent a paired relationship of social, ritual, or funerary significance, and the type has attracted particular scholarly and collector attention for its formal invention and emotional directness. Michoacan examples occupy a regional position within the broader West Mexican corpus, with a ceramic vocabulary that overlaps with neighboring traditions while retaining its own character.
This small conjoined pair depicts two standing figures with arms around each other, with individualized facial features, defined coiffure, and surface detail rendered with the directness characteristic of Michoacan Preclassic production. The ceramic surface carries an earth tone patina consistent with burial context, and the joining of the two bodies is fully integrated into the sculptural form. The Grant collection, New York, acquired in the 1950s and 1960s, represents one of the early named American collections for this category of West Mexican material.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
