Colima Seated Dwarf, Comala Style, Protoclassic, circa 100 BC - AD 250

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

The highly exaggerated physiognomy of this figure is a manifestation of the dwarf’s potential visionary and shamanic abilities. In the Aztec era, dwarfs and hunchbacks lived in specially appointed quarters and it was noted they were Moctezuma's confidants in religious matters. (Jacki Gallagher, Companions of the Dead, Ceramic Tomb Sculpture from Ancient Mexico, Los Angeles, 1983, p. 39).

His enlarged torso with sculpted pectorals and back muscles narrows to a tiny waist tied with a sashed loincloth. The large and firmly set jaw and wide-open eyes convey confidence and power.

For similar figures, see Richard F. Townsend, Ancient West Mexico: Art and Archaeology of the Unknown Past, Chicago, 1998, p.83, fig. 14 and p. 45, fig. 29.