The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of August 10, 2022

Urn Figure Head Fragment

c. 200-500

Mexico, Oaxaca, Zapotec

Earthenware

Overall: 17.2 x 22.5 x 13.7 cm (6 3/4 x 8 7/8 x 5 3/8 in.)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener 1990.275

Location

233 Mesoamerican and Intermediate Region

Description

The face of this fragmentary urn figure is modeled with exceptional sensitivity. The downward gaze of the drilled pupils imparts a sense of quiet alertness.

Provenance
?-1962
Howard Leigh, 1962, sold to James C. and Florence C. Gruener
1962-1990
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
Citations
Boos, Frank H. The Ceramic Sculptures of Ancient Oaxaca. Los Angeles (California): [s.n.], 1967. p. 461
Young-Sánchez, Margaret. "The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 79, no. 7 (1992): 234-75. Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 250 www.jstor.org
Exhibition history

Palm Beach, FL: The Society of the Four Arts; January 10 - February 1,1953. "Pre-Columbian Art: The Native Art of America Before the Conquest." Cat. no. 38, no repr.

Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; February 4 - November 29, 1992. "The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art." The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art. 79 (September, 1992.) cat. no. 52, p. 270, repr. fig. 52, p. 250.

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/1990.275