Interpretation
Xochipala Figurines
Ceramic figurines from Xochipala, in the Mexican state of Guerrero, are renowned for their attention to anatomical detail and expressiveness. Precise renditions of human anatomy— including bone, muscle, and fat as well as the telltale signs of age—lead us to imagine that the figurines are portraits of specific individuals. Perhaps the greatest example of Xochipala figural art, the seated pair displayed here captures an engaged, animated conversation, brilliantly expressed through the careful posing of unadorned bodies. Although Xochipala figures once were believed to predate the Olmec culture, modern scientific analyses indicate that they were made one thousand years later than previously thought, after the decline of the Olmec.
Information
- Title
- Standing male figure
- Object Number
- 1996-263
- Medium
- Ceramic with red pigment
- Dates
- 400 BCE–200 CE
- Dimensions
- h. 21.9 cm., w. 9.5 cm., d. 6.0 cm. (8 5/8 x 3 3/4 x 2 3/8 in.)
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase, gift of the Hans A. Widenmann, Class of 1918, and Dorothy Widenmann Foundation and the William B. Lucas, Class of 1983, Fund
- Period
- Formative
- Place made
- North America, Mexico, Guerrero, Central Mexico, Xochipala
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