1973.51 Warrior with Shield and Bird Headdress (Nayarit or Colima, Mexico, West Mexico)

During the Late Formative period (200 BCE-300 CE), modeled representations of warriors were common in the visual arts of cultures that once occupied the modern-day states of Colima, Nayarit, and Jalisco. Identified by their body armor and helmets, the warriors are depicted either sitting or standing, and wielding a weapon or shield. While their function remains uncertain, such hollow clay figurines were often placed in funerary contexts. Particular to these early cultures of western Mexico, deceased individuals were often interred in deep shaft tombs dug down into the earth. Within this funerary context, the dynamic warrior figurines, with their martial poses and accoutrements, served the deceased, perhaps as tomb guardians.

Carol Robbins, Label text [1958.42; 1973.51], A. H. Meadows Galleries.

Pre-Columbian (American): AAT: 300016619

Nayarit (West Coast Mesoamerican styles): AAT: 300017205

Colima (West Coast Mesoamerican styles): AAT: 300017197

Mexico (nation): TGN: 7005560

Nayarit (state/Mexico): TGN: 1001906

Colima (state/Mexico): TGN: 7016644

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

male: AAT: 300189559

warriors: AAT: 300261945

armor (protective wear): AAT: 300036745

helmet (protective wear): AAT: 300036794

headdresses: AAT: 300046023

birds (animals): AAT: 300266506

birds (motifs): AAT: 300375751

ear ornaments: AAT: 300211279

loincloths (main garments): AAT: 300209923

weapons: AAT: 300036926

clubs (weapon): AAT: 300037206

shields (armor): AAT: 300036869

guardian: DMA

hollow (form attribute): AAT: 300163023

whistles (flutes (aerophones)): AAT: 300042706

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.

The bird on the headdress of the figure also functions as a whistle. 

Apply to objects where number equals 1973.51