Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Seated Male Figure
(Ancient Americas )
This figure of a seated male, with arm raised, is characteristic of ceramic images found in valleys surrounding Colombia's Cauca River. They are today called slab figures, as the head and body are made from flat slabs of clay, with coils of clay added on to form arms and legs. Details are very simply rendered, with eyes, mouth indicated by lines in the clay. The septum of the nose has been pierced, and the figure may have originally had a nose ring of gold or copper. Such figures have frequently been found in tombs, and may have represented companions or guardians. Many are rendered in the same position with a raised arm shown in this figure.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Sotheby's New York, 1994, No. 247; Ron Messick Fine Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico; John G. Bourne, 1990s, by purchase; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 2017.
Geographies
Colombia, Middle Cauca River Valley (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 13 7/16 x W: 10 7/8 x D: 4 3/4 in. (34.2 x 27.6 x 12 cm)
Credit Line
Bequest of John G. Bourne, 2017
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
2009.20.283