Nayarit Seated Female Figure, Lagunillas Type C, Protoclassic, circa 100 BC - AD 250

Edward H. Merrin, New York
Gray and Patsy R. Taylor, Greenwich, acquired from the above by 1971

The Bruce Museum, Greenwich, Life, Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Mexico, April 19 - November 3, 1991

This "Chinesco" figure is a variant of the Type C category, known for the heart-shaped face with a gentle trance-like expression, and the interplay of proportions of the legs and arms. Her voluminous thighs taper into tiny feet and her slender folded arms are balanced on the raised knee. Her reddened body is carefully painted with a tightly patterned net loincloth, and her broad face is decorated with striped cheek tattoos and triangular patches. The overall sculpture balances detailed areas with plain fields and weighted volumes against open areas.

For a similar figure see Replica Shoes ’s, New York, May 16, 2014, lot 257.