Cleveland Museum of Art

Pair of Standing Figures

Date

c. 100 BCE–300 CE

Medium

earthenware with colored slips

Culture

Mexico, Nayarit, Ixtlan del Rio Style

Department

Art of the Americas

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Nagarit ceramic sculputres, like those of Colima, were manufactured for burial with the dead. The popular male-female couples may be portraits of the individuals with whom they were buried. This female figure, dressed in a colorful skirt and hat, has painted or tattooed patterns on her torso and face. Jewelry adorns her face, ears, and nose. The vessel on her shoulder symbolizes her domestic duties. Like his female companion, this male figure is portrayed in all his finery. He carries spears, indicating that he is a hunter or warrior, and his confident grin conveys aggression and vitality.

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