Description:

**First Time At Auction**

Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Nayarit, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A wonderful mostly flat terracotta figure of a woman who stands on two wide feet. She wears a skirt, bracelets, headband, and, on a prominent and pointed nose, a large nose ring. Her hands are on her hips, giving her a delightfully sassy appearance. Size: 4.1" W x 7.75" H (10.4 cm x 19.7 cm)

In this culture, the dead were buried down shafts - 3 to 20 meters deep - that were dug vertically or near vertically through the volcanic tuff that makes up the geology of the region. The base of the shaft would open into one or more horizontal chambers with a low ceiling. These shafts were almost always dug beneath a dwelling, probably a family home, and seem to have been used as family mausoleums, housing the remains of many related individuals. This is a figure made to be placed inside those mausoleums, perhaps to mediate between the worlds of the living and the dead.

Provenance: Whisnant Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, acquired over twenty years ago

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#123075

  • Condition: Loss to bottom of one foot. Nice deposits on surface.

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June 26, 2017 9:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,000
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $25,000