Description:

Pre-Columbian, Ecuador, Manabi Province, Bahia culture, ca. 5th to 1st century BCE. A ceramic figure of a woman. The figure is abstract, almost alien looking, with large, slit-like eyes and a huge head; skull shaping in infants was a common practice in ancient South America, and this individual may represent an idealized form of beauty. She is nude aside from a large red headdress with a disc offset on one front side. Her body is similarly stylized, with wide shoulders and hips. Size: 3.8" W x 7.8" H (9.7 cm x 19.8 cm)

The Bahia continued in the long Ecuadorian tradition of ceramic effigy making and may have been used in rituals or as offerings; one archaeological site, on La Plata Island, has yielded thousands of broken effigy figures similar to this one.

Provenance: private Maui, Hawaii, USA collection

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#125919

  • Condition: Legs are fully restored with overpainting; restoration is well done and difficult to see.

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March 1, 2018 7:00 AM MST
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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