Colima Figure of a Coati, Protoclassic, circa 100 BC - AD 250

Herbert Stever
Gray and Patsy R. Taylor, Greenwich, acquired from the above in June, 1971

The long snout and small ears of the coati, or coatimundi, are identifying features of this nimble "opportunistic omnivore", who lives comfortably in trees as well as the forest floor. Coatis are not frequently depicted within the repertory of Colima effigy vessels; for other examples see Mireille Holsbeke and Karel Arnaut, Offerings for a New Life: Funerary Images from pre-Columbian West Mexico, Antwerp, 1998, pp. 98-99, cat. nos. 31-32.