1968.20 Kneeling male figure (Olmec, Guerrero?, Mexico)

The carved stone images Olmec kings wore on their foreheads and chests projected supernatural power. A great king also possessed small sculptures, such as this carved serpentine figurine that depicts a crouching or kneeling man with both hands resting on the front of the knees. There are small holes on the earlobes and finely incised lines indicate the figure may be wearing a loincloth, but further costume details are absent. The large, vacant eyes may indicate a state of trance, a bridge between the natural and supernatural worlds. His facial features are common among Olmec figurines and may relate to the were-jaguar motif, a human-jaguar supernatural figure that is prominent in Olmec art. The term were-jaguar refers to the merging of human and jaguar characteristics, an analogy with the term werewolf. This work depicts the king's own transformation from a human into a magical animal. The incorporation of animal attributes suggests that the Olmec held animals in high regard and may have attempted to channel the power of such creatures. Objects such as these accompanied the king on his journey through death to the otherworld.

Pre-Columbian (American): AAT: 300016619

Olmec: AAT: 300017051

Mexico (nation): TGN: 7005560

Guerrero (state): TGN: 7005585

serpentine: AAT: 300011627

cinnabar (mineral and pigment): AAT: 300311452

cinnabar (pigment): AAT: 300400883

carving: AAT: 300053149

polishing (finishing): AAT: 300053867

incising: AAT: 300053847

drillwork (sculpture technique): AAT: 300186211

Middle Preclassic Period (Formative): AAT: 300016973

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

Formative Period (Preclassic): AAT: 300016973

sculpture: AAT: 300047090

supernatural (concepts): AAT: 300055947

green (color): AAT: 300128438

figures: AAT: 300189808

shiny: AAT: 300065244

portrait: AAT: 300015637

sitting (seated): AAT: 300263970

kneeling: AAT: 300265356

male: AAT: 300189559

loincloths (main garments): AAT: 300209923

supernatural (concepts): AAT: 300055947

deities: AAT: 300343850

jaguar: AAT: 300310389

were-jaguar (Mesoamerican mythical figure / deity): DMA

transformations (concepts / processes): DMA

underworld (doctrinal concept): AAT: 300343823

king: AAT: 300025481

rulers (people): AAT: 300025475

From 1968: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, The Art Museum League Fund, purchased from Teochita, Inc., New York (Frances Pratt, dealer) [1], [2]

[1] The main source for this provenance is invoice from Teochita, Inc., New York (dated May 20, 1968, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.

[2] The Dallas Art Association is the predecessor to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name was abandoned in 1970. Works from this collection were transferred to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

253365302: UMO. [Caption] Monument 52 from San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan, Veracruz, showing a classic were-jaguar figure. Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rosemania, Wikimedia Commons, accessed: June 01 2015, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Seated_Olmec_Jaguar_from_San_Lorenzo%2C_Veracruz.jpg.