|
HOME :
Pre-Columbian Art :
Chinesco Style : Chinesco Style (Type C) Nayarit Terracotta Sculpture of a Seated Man
|
 |
|
|
|
Chinesco Style (Type C) Nayarit Terracotta Sculpture of a Seated Man - PF.2921
Origin: Nayarit, Mexico
Circa: 300
BC
to 300
AD
Dimensions:
6.25" (15.9cm) high
x 4.25" (10.8cm) wide
Collection: Pre-Columbian
Style: Chinesco (Type C)
Medium: Terracotta
$6,800.00
Location: United States
|
|
|
| Photo Gallery |
|
|
| Description |
In the Nayarit tradition, simple images such as
this seated male often had an underlying funerary
symbolism, appropriate for their function as
effigy figures in shaft tomb graves. The traits
that characterize the Chinesco style of South-
Western Nayarit (a flat, rounded, almost heart-
shaped head, and thin eye slits) have been
softened here, and the figure is more realistic in
appearance. Both his head and his posture
exhibit much less stylization than is generally
seen in such figures. The remnants of ancient
paint mark his small loincloth and necklace. He
also appears to be wearing armbands, and the
holes in his ears may once have held small
ornaments. Great attention was given to detail in
this piece, as even his toenails and fingernails
have been carefully represented. The figure's
right leg bends up to touch his folded arms,
while his left leg is stubby and foreshortened,
like those of typical Chinesco figures. Towards
the end of the pre-classic period in Ancient
Meso-America, the regions of Colima, Nayarit,
and Jalisco in Western Mexico became home to
what has now been termed the 'Shaft-Tomb'
culture. These people built tombs consisting of
shafts 10-60feet deep with several ovoid tombs
branching either directly off of the main shaft at
various levels, or connected to it by lateral
tunnels. The burial offerings, which filled these
tombs, have become our greatest link to this lost
culture. The hollow pottery figures which were
commonly placed in the tomb chambers show
stylistic variations between regions, giving us
glimpses into the cultural differences between
these groups as well as the beliefs, which they
held in common.
- (PF.2921)
|
| |
|
