An Olmec Reclining Figure...

Description

An Olmec Reclining Figure
Las Bocas, Mexico, Early Pre-Classic Period, c. 1200 - 900 BC

Solid buff clay with a coat of glaze or paint, with traces of red pigment on the lips, ears, and headdress. A delightful, even comic figure, posing like a haughty odalisque, with left hand supporting the head and right hand to her thigh. The pear-shaped head has naturalistic modeling expressing a distinctive character, with a large frowning mouth and other facial features detailed. In very good condition, no apparent repairs or restorations, areas of erosion and loss to the surface paint, along with dark spots from time and exposure. This figure belongs to the eyeless style, in which the orbits are blank, a common motif on many Las Bocas figures. In such figures the proportions are naturalistically observed, if somewhat exaggerated.

Provenance:
A Private Collection, New York, NY, acquired in 2003
John A. Stokes, Nyack, NY, acquired in 1971
E. Sosa, Mexico City

Published:
Michael Coe, The Olmec World - Ritual and Rulership, The Art Museum, Princeton University, 1995, figure 239i.

Exhibited:
The Olmec World - Ritual and Rulership, the Art Museum, Princeton University, December 1995 - February 1996; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, April - June 1996.

Length: 5 ¾ inches

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