The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of February 4, 2023

Kneeling Figure

c. 1200–600 BC

Mexico, Guerrero, Olmec, 1200-300 BC

Stone

Overall: 26.3 x 20 x 21.3 cm (10 3/8 x 7 7/8 x 8 3/8 in.)

The Norweb Collection 1951.179

Location

233 Mesoamerican and Intermediate Region

Fun Fact

An observant traveler discovered the left knee and hand fragment, orginally missing and now reunited.

Description

Outside of the Maya, Olmec sculptures of humans have a naturalism unknown in other Mesoamerican artistic traditions. On this finely carved figure, the musculature of the arms, torso, and legs is carefully depicted, and even the fingernails and toenails and are shown.

Provenance
?-1951
Emery May Holden Norweb [1895-1984] and Raymond Henry Norweb [1894-1983], Cleveland OH, 1951, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
1951
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Citations
Cleveland Museum of Art. Art of the Americas: Picture Book No. 2. 1946. p. 27
"Art and Archeology at The Cleveland Museum of Art." Archeology (Winter 1953).
Milliken, William M. "A Missing Fragment Recovered." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 44, no. 3 (1957) pp. 46-8 www.jstor.org
"Archeological News" Archeology 10 no. 2, (Summer 1957). p. 144
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 357 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 290 archive.org
Alsop, Joseph. "Les Chefs-d'Oeuvre de Premiere Importance du Second Musee des Etats-Unis."Connaissance no. 172 (Juin 1966). pp. 55-62
Alsop, Joseph. "Treasures of the Cleveland Museum of Art,” Art In America (May - June 1966). p. 34
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 290 archive.org
Spaeth, Eloise. American Art Museums: An Introduction to Looking. New York, Evanston: Harper et Row, 1976. pp. 19-21
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 392 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 4 archive.org
Coe, Michael D. The Olmec World: Ritual and Rulership. Princeton, N.J.: Art Museum, Princeton University, 1996. Cat. No. 14, p. 144
Taube, Karl Andreas. Olmec Art at Dumbarton Oaks. Estados Unidos: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 2004. fig. 30, p. 61
Exhibition history

Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; November 9, 1945-January 6, 1946. "Art of the Americas." p.27, black and white repr.

Princeton, NJ: The Art Museum of Princeton University; December 16, 1995-March 3, 1996. Houston, Texas: The Museum of Fine Arts Houston; April 7, 1996- June 9, 1996. "The Olmec World: Ritual and Rulership." cat. no. 14, pg 144, color repr. (fig.1 is view of the underside)

The Olmec World: Ritual and Rulership. Princeton University Art Museum (organizer) (December 16, 1995-March 3, 1996); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (April 7-June 9, 1996).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1951.179