Standing Couple

Standing Couple

A.D. 100
Culture
Jalisco
Locale
Jalisco
Country
Mexico
Style/Tradition
San Sebastían
Object
sculpture, male, female
Medium
Earthenware with colored slips
Accession Number
1991.503.1-2
Credit Line
Gift in memory of L.K. Land
Standing Couple . A.D. 100. Earthenware with colored slips. Gift in memory of L.K. Land. 1991.503.1-2.
Dimensions
height: 21 in, 53.3400 cm; width: 7.25 in, 18.4150 cm; depth: 6 in, 15.2400 cm; height: 19 1/4 in, 48.8950 cm; width: 8 1/4 in, 20.9550 cm; depth: 5 1/2 in, 13.9700 cm
Department
Mayer Center, Arts of the Ancient Americas
Collection
Arts of the Ancient Americas

Standing Couple
Jalisco, San Sebastian style
A.D. 100
Mexico, Jalisco or Nayarit
Earthenware with colored slips
Gift in memory of L. K. Land, 1991.503.1&.2

Huge arched feet provide stable supports for these large ceramic figures; the upper limbs are proportionately much smaller.  The male figure brandishes a war club, and wears protective gear that may be made of basketry.  The female’s hands rest on her slightly protruding belly, suggesting that she may be pregnant.  Her shoulders are decorated with scarification, while body painting patterns her thighs, rump, and back.

Many pairs of ceramic figures have been discovered in ancient burials from the states of Jalisco, Nayarit, and Colima in western Mexico.  They may have portrayed the deceased, or provided companionship in the afterlife.  While many ceramic figures were likely made specifically to serve as burial offerings, fragments have also been discovered in non-tomb contexts. Thus they may have been used by the living in ceremonies or social activities.

Exhibition History
  • “Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and Mexican Modernism From the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection” — Denver Art Museum, 10/25/2020 – 1/17/2021

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