The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of August 16, 2022

Female Figurine

c. 1200-900 BC

Central Mexico, Tlatilco

Earthenware with pigment

Overall: 10.9 x 4.1 cm (4 5/16 x 1 5/8 in.)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener 1990.144

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

Figurines were also made of perishable materials including wood, paper, cloth, rubber, and dough.

Description

This ceramic figurine—in the style of Tlatilco, an early village site near Mexico City—depicts a nude female with an elaborate coiffure, attenuated arms, and the traces of mineral pigment. Since many figurines from the period depict females, modern interpreters usually connect them to fertility concerns. At Tlatilco, figurines were found in human burials that had been placed under the floors of homes.

Provenance
?-1963
(Everett Rassiga, Inc., New York, NY, 1963, sold to James C. and Florence C. Gruener)
1963-1990
James C. [1903-1990] and Florence C. [1908-1982] Gruener, Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
1990-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Young-Sánchez, Margaret. "The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 79, no. 7 (1992): 234-75. Referenced: cat. no. 4, p. 267, Reproduced: fig. 4., p. 239 www.jstor.org
Exhibition history

The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 4-November 29, 1992).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1990.144