On view
Standing figure,
500 BCE–800 CE
The rugged terrain, relatively limited infrastructure, and general inhospitality to archaeological research of the region encompassed by the present-day Mexican state of Guerrero have left the state’s various ancient cultures less studied than those from other parts of Mesoamerica. At the same time, the region, particularly the towns of Iguala and Taxco, has long been an abundant font of ancient art that moved into both the Mexican and international markets.
Gillett Griffin (1928–2016), the Museum’s first curator of the art of the ancient Americas, regularly visited Guerrero and explored many of its ancient sites. Griffin acquired artifacts for his own and the Museum’s collections from Mexican dealers, American expatriate collectors, and Indigenous residents, among others. The Museum continues to research the collecting histories of these objects, examining the ethical implications of when and how objects were transferred from their sites of origin and asking critical questions about our continued stewardship.
Information
500 BCE–800 CE
North America, Mexico, Guerrero, Chontal
By March 21, 1969, Teochita, Inc. (Frances Pratt), New York (inv. no. T582) [1]; December 5, 1969, gift of J. Lionberger Davis (1878-1973), Princeton, NJ, to the Princeton University Art Museum [2].
Notes:
[1] Correspondence dated March 21, 1969, quotes a price for a “Chontal Fig. Arms crossed,” which uniquely matches this figure, as does the T582 sticker on the object, which matches the inventory number mentioned in the correspondence.
- "Acquisitions 1969", Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 29, no. 1 (1970): p. 16-27., p. 23
- "Gifts by J. Lionberger Davis, Class of 1900, to the Art Museum", Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 33, no. 2 (1974): p. 24-30., p. 25
- Carlo Gay and Robin Gay, Chontal: Ancient Stone Sculpture from Guerrero, Mexico (Geneva: Balsas Publications, 2001)., fig. i, p. 31, pl. 25, p. 38 (illus.)
