Artwork
Standing Human Figure
Artist
Unknown
DepartmentLatin American Art
CultureChupicuaro
Dateca. 500-100 B.C.
MediumEarthenware with paint
Credit LineSan Antonio Museum of Art, gift of Mrs. A. A. Seeligson, Sr.
Object number77.1127
GeographyPlace madeGuanajuato, Mexico
General regionNorth and Central America
DescriptionThe woman portrayed wears an intricate headdress, as is common to all figures of this type. The right side is decorated with a beaded diagonal applique that may represent a braid or textile woven into the hair. There is a hair tuft hanging down to the nose. Typically the eyebrows have been modeled through the applique of small diagonal rolls and the usual coffee bean eyes have been employed. A beaded necklace hangs from the shoulders to the breasts. Rolls of clay are joined at the shoulders to form the arms that curve and rest on the abdomen. Appliqued to the left knee is a decorative leg band, and clay pellets are fixed to the toes representing small tufts of an unknown material.Label TextChupicuaro is a pre-classic site in the present state of Guanajuato. It is located at the confluence of the Lerma and Tigre rivers and has yielded great numbers of figural ceramics, as well as highly burnished pottery bowls and other vessels. Its location near the northern frontier of Mesoamerica is apparent by the strong stylistic associations between Chupicuaro pottery designs and those of the U. S. Southwest.Exhibition HistoryAmerica Before Columbus: Pre-Columbian Art in the Collection of the San Antonio Museum of Art (San Antonio Museum of Art), 1985Published ReferencesKelker, Nancy L, and San Antonio Museum Association. America before Columbus: Pre-Columbian Art in the Collection of the San Antonio Museum Association (San Antonio: San Antonio Museum Association, 1985), 122.On view
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
