Lot 52
Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Nayarit culture, ca. 200 BCE to 300 CE. A compelling and intact pair of Nayarit pottery figures depicting a seated male and female rendered in expressive sculptural form. The larger male figure squats with knees drawn upward, his torso hunched forward and forearms crossed so that his hands rest on opposite knees. He wears a crested helmet and a nose ring, with a necklace and layered earrings accentuating the elongated face and open mouth. Beside him sits a nude pregnant female figure, her posture supported by two extended legs behind her that form a chair-like base. Her hands rest gently upon her swollen abdomen beneath two raised breasts, emphasizing the theme of fertility. She wears a headband, armbands, and jewelry similar to the male figure. Size of larger (male): 3.6" L x 5.1" W x 7.6" H (9.1 cm x 13 cm x 19.3 cm)
Both figures display stippled shoulders that likely represent ceremonial scarification, a marker of identity or status within West Mexican societies. Figures such as these were frequently placed in Nayarit shaft tombs as funerary offerings, where they may have represented ancestors, household members, or symbolic scenes reflecting social roles, fertility, and lineage within ancient communities.
Provenance: private Colorado, USA collection; ex-private Los Angeles, California, USA collection; ex-major gallery, Beverly Hills, California, USA, primarily acquired between 1985 and 2005
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#201580
- Condition: Both show age-expected surface wear with some small chips and abrasions in areas. Otherwise, both are intact and excellent with good detail, pigments, and rich manganese deposits throughout.
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