Standing Female Figure

Solid, hand-modeled figurines of diminutive size yet remarkable detail and expressiveness represent the Xochipala style, a distinctive artistic tradition found in the highlands of Guerrero in western Mexico. The standing female figure dates to the middle centuries of the Middle Formative Period, when artists adorned the figurines with much more personal regalia than is found in earlier works. The standing female seems to depict an adolescent girl wearing the style's typical pubic wrap with front and rear tufts. A long braid falls down her back, which is decorated with incised motifs. Her wide eyes and slightly opened mouth imply an ecstatic state. The figure sports large ear flares, and the hair is indicated by sharply incised lines. Slashes on the shoulders likely represent body paint, tattoos, or intentional scarring, a type of body adornment seen on many later ceramic figural sculptures from western Mexico.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Leonard Kalina [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; John G. Bourne, August 1990, by purchase; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 2017.