1972.9 Seated figure (Jalisco, Mexico, West Mexico)

The preclassic cultures of West Mexico occupied the modern states of Jalisco, Nayarit, and Colima, where artisans produced a variety of ceramic figures in distinctive regional styles. Of the various styles in Jalisco, the most common is the buffware known as Ameca Gray, typified by large, hollow figures that accompanied the dead in their deep shaft tombs. This example typifies the distinctively Jalisco style, including the bulging and thickly-lidded eyes, the masklike face with its carefully modeled prominent nose, the large mouth with parted lips, and the frontal pose of the figure.

This male figure is especially animated—he sits cross-legged with one knee up and reaches forward with extended arms. A number of figures portray similar poses, which suggests the posture and gesture are regularized, symbolic, and probably magical. Two thousand years ago, the people of western Mexico buried their dead in deep shaft tombs, often accompanied by large ceramic figures of remarkable vitality. The religion of these people seems to have been centered on the shaman, the intermediary between the world of man and the supernatural world. The shaman interceded in the spirit world and defended the souls of men in battles against the powers of darkness. Like a shaman deep in trance, this figure reaches out not only to us but also to his vision in the spirit world.

Pre-Columbian (American): AAT: 300016619

Jalisco (West Coast Mesoamerican styles): AAT: 300017200

Mexico (nation): TGN: 7005560

Jalisco (state): TGN: 7005586

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

sitting (seated): AAT: 300263970

male: AAT: 300189559

nude: AAT: 300189568

gesture: AAT: 300056179

pose: AAT: 300067390

shaman: AAT: 300218522

shamanism: AAT: 300055999

visions (life events): AAT: 300251603

supernatural (concepts): AAT: 300055947

underworld (doctrinal concept): AAT: 300343823

hollow (form attribute): AAT: 300163023

Ameca-Zacoalco (West Coast Mesoamerican styles): AAT: 300017201

From at least 1971-1972: Edward H. Merrin Gallery, Inc., New York [1], [2]

From 1972: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, General Acquisitions Fund, purchased from the above [1], [2], [3]

[1] The main source for this provenance is Acquisition Record (dated March 08, 1972, 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 a letter from Merrill C. Rueppel, Director of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, to Edward H. Merrin (dated March 27, 1972, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). 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 1972.9