Kneeling Female Effigy Figure

Nayarit, Precolumbian
On View

in

Native American, Level 1, South Wing

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About the Artwork

The cultures of west Mexico buried their dead in shaft-chamber tombs accompanied by a variety of ceramic offerings. The tombs, often as deep as fifty feet, were prepared in advance and signs of reuse suggest they functioned as family crypts. Numerous effigy figures representing family members or servants were placed in the tombs to assist the deceased as their counterparts had done in life. This large, hollow female effigy figure represents the Chinesco style, distinguished by an emphasis on naturalism and oriental-like facial features. Small red designs decorate the body, probably representing body paint or tattoos.

Kneeling Female Effigy Figure

between 1st century BCE and 1st century CE

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Precolumbian

Nayarit

Terracotta and pigment

Overall: 10 7/8 × 6 1/2 × 5 1/2 inches (27.6 × 16.5 × 14 cm)

Sculpture

Indigenous Americas

Gift of Mr. W. Hawkins Ferry

1984.33

Copyright not assessed, please contact [email protected].

Markings

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Previous owner's accession number painted on figure's bottom inner thigh: 879-W

Provenance

the Wray Collection (Phoenix, Arizona, USA). 1984-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

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Provenance page

Exhibition History

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Published References

Bulletin of the DIA 62, no. 2 (1985): 28, fig. 21.

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Nayarit, Precolumbian, Kneeling Female Effigy Figure, between 1st century BCE and 1st century CE, terracotta and pigment. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Mr. W. Hawkins Ferry, 1984.33.

Kneeling Female Effigy Figure
Kneeling Female Effigy Figure