Ixtlán del Río-Style House Model with Figures Feasting
Unknown artist, Nayarit region, Western Mexico. Ixtlán del Río-Style House Model with Figures Feasting, 100–1 BCE. Slip-painted ceramic, 10 ½ x 7 ½ x 5 ¾ inches. Museum purchase, 1965.198.
House Model with Figures
Nayarit, Ixtlan del Rio style
About 100 B.C.–A.D. 200
Mexico, Nayarit
Earthenware with colored slips
Museum purchase, 1965.198
Numerous individuals appear inside and outside this two-level house with a tall thatched roof and painted walls. Casually posed, they appear to relax, converse, and share food and drink. Some scholars interpret such scenes as mundane depictions of daily life, while others believe that the lower level of the house portrays the underworld, with deceased family members continuing their activities below the living quarters of their descendants.