Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Shaman (?) Effigy Figure
(Ancient Americas )
This highly polished ceramic work is both a sculpture and a functional vessel. It shows a seated man who sits, hands on knees, contemplating the viewer. He wears an elaborate collar or necklace, and may represent a shaman or warrior, due to his horned helmet. While the meaning of this vessel is somewhat elusive, these ceramics in general were used as grave offerings in the shaft tombs of West Mexico. There, families worked hard to build deep shafts from 10-30 feet into the ground, building burial chambers for their ancestors. They would be filled with replicas of food and family.
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.
Stendahl Galleries, Los Angeles [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; John G. Bourne, 1940s, by purchase; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 2017.
Geographies
Mexico, Colima (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 12 3/8 x W: 9 1/8 x D: 6 1/2 in. (31.5 x 23.1 x 16.5 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.
2009.20.290