1973.52 Standing female figure (Nayarit, Mexico, West Mexico (Chinesco style))

A distinctive set of burial customs was present in the Colima-Jalisco-Nayarit area of West Mexico from at least 250 BCE. The characteristic shaft-and-chamber tombs were often accompanied by large-scale hollow ceramic figurines. The word chinesco designates a hollow ceramic figure style from southern Nayarit distinguished by vaguely Asian facial features. The broad head and circular face of this example are characteristic, as are the incised caplike treatment of the hair and the depiction of multiple rings as nose and ear ornaments. The figure’s ample hips and legs, full and rounded, convey nurturing abundance; her short, thin arms imply a life with few manual tasks. The female figure, a favorite theme for Mesoamerica’s earliest ceramic artists, probably alluded to hopes for human and agricultural fertility.

• Carol Robbins, Label text, A. H. Meadows Galleries, 2010.
• Carol Robbins, "Standing female figure (1973.52)," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Suzanne Kotz (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art, 1997), 185.

Pre-Columbian (American): AAT: 300016619

Nayarit (West Coast Mesoamerican styles): AAT: 300017205

Chinesco (West Coast Mesoamerican styles): DMA

Mexico (nation): TGN: 7005560

Nayarit (state/Mexico): TGN: 1001906

ceramic (material): AAT: 300235507

paint (coating): AAT: 300015029

slip (clay): AAT: 300010459

slip glaze: AAT: 300015110

clay: AAT: 300010439

resin (organic material): AAT: 300012882

glazing (coating): AAT: 300053914

incising: AAT: 300053847

burnishing (polishing): AAT: 30053869

modeling (forming): AAT: 300053130

coiling (pottery technique): AAT: 300053903

slab method (pottery technique): AAT: 300053905

Formative Period (Preclassic): AAT: 300016973

Preclassic (Archaic / Formative / Mesoamerican period): AAT: 300016967

Late Preclassic Period (Formative): AAT: 300016976

sculpture: AAT: 300047090

figurine: AAT: 300047455

funerary objects: AAT: 300234126

effigies (funerary sculpture): AAT: 300047108

tombs: AAT: 300005926

burials: AAT: 300263485

figures (representations): AAT: 300189808

standing: AAT: 300239500

female: AAT: 300189557

women (female humans): AAT: 300025943

nude: AAT: 300189568

hairstyles: AAT: 300262903

caps (headgear): AAT: 300046094

necklaces: AAT: 300046001

ear ornaments: AAT: 300211279

nose ornaments (jewelry): AAT: 300211628

nose rings (nose ornaments): AAT: 300046005

loincloths (main garments): AAT: 300209923

circular (shape): AAT: 300263827

round (shape): AAT: 300121969

legs (animal or human components): AAT: 300310192

hips (animal or human components): AAT: 300310191

fertility: AAT: 300379149

agriculture (sciences): AAT: 300054463

hollow (form attribute): AAT: 300163023

n.d.: Dr. and Sra. Josué Sáenz, Mexico, D.F. [1], [2]

Until 1973: Edward H. Merrin Gallery, Inc., New York [1], [2]

From 1973: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene McDermott and The Eugene McDermott Foundation and Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated, purchased from the above [1], [2], [3]

[1] The main source for this provenance is Object Worksheet (n.d., copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.

[2] The main source for this provenance is Acquisition Record (dated March 13, 1973, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.

[3] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

Apply to objects where number equals 1973.52