Lot 31A
Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Jalisco, Ameca-Etzatlan, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A commanding hand-modeled terracotta figure of a seated nude male, sculpted in the distinctive sculptural idiom of the Jalisco Ameca-Etzatlan tradition. The figure sits with knees splayed and torso upright, his elongated cylindrical head surging upward with calm monumentality. His features are strikingly abstract: narrow slit eyes beneath a pronounced brow ridge, a broad triangular nose, and a downturned mouth of incised teeth. Tassel-like ear ornaments cascade in ridged coils from each pierced ear. In his left hand he holds a shallow bowl possibly referencing ritual food, offering, or hallucinogenic substance, while his right arm rests on his knee, grasping a long-handled mace with a bulbous head. His right shoulder bears a pattern of raised stippling - an evocative detail that may represent ceremonial scarification or tattoos. Size: 8" L x 9.8" W x 17.5" H (20.3 cm x 24.9 cm x 44.4 cm)
The figure is otherwise nude, his exposed body modeled with understated naturalism, including a prominently rendered but diminutive phallus - a feature not uncommon in West Mexican tomb sculpture, where gender identity is more culturally nuanced than strictly anatomical. Subtle red slip still clings to the surface in gradients, with areas of black and cream giving the piece a dynamic, time-softened polychrome palette. Figures like this were interred in shaft tombs as companions, protectors, or embodiments of lineage, reinforcing continuity between the living and the ancestral dead.
PROVENANCE: ex-collection of Y. Kayvan, Los Angeles, California, USA, acquired from a Los Angeles, California, USA gallery, acquisition dates range from the late 1990s to 2005
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Item #
196615
- Condition: Professionally repaired and restored with repainting over some break lines and chipping and small losses along other, visible break lines. Missing proper left foot. Nicks, chips, and abrasion as shown. Otherwise, nice remaining detail with good pigments and scattered mineral deposits.
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