Description: Ancient Pre-Columbian Rare Large Colima Hunchback, EX MUSEUM West Mexico, c. 250 BC - 250 AD A hunchback seated with hands on bent knees. This finely crafted pottery figure represents an individual with dwarfism and a pronounced hunchback, delicately modeled with a serene, almost meditative expression. The eyes outlined with incised lines, slit mouth. He wears a cap with a small cone at front (believed to be the horn representing a shaman). Hollow earthenware with a variegated red-brown burnished slip, extensive confirmed black manganese deposits and root marks on the surface attesting to its authenticity. Height: 11 inches Hunchback and dwarf individuals are very common in Colima sculpture - indeed, they heavily outnumber portrayals of women (and some have theorized that this relates to their relatively high social status in the society). Some scholars attribute the hunched back in West Mexican shaft tomb culture to a particular form of tuberculosis; the protruding shoulders and lower spine of this figure may be part of the figure's deformity or the result of an emaciated, shamanic state. Colima, located on Mexico's southwestern coast, was during this time part of the shaft tomb culture, along with neighbors to the north in Jalisco and Nayarit. In this culture, the dead were buried down shafts - 3 to 20 meters deep - that were dug vertically or near vertically through the volcanic tuff that makes up the geology of the region. The base of the shaft would open into one or more horizontal chambers with a low ceiling. These shafts were almost always dug beneath a dwelling, probably a family home, and seem to have been used as family mausoleums, housing the remains of many related individuals. This is a figure made to be placed inside those mausoleums, perhaps to mediate between the worlds of the living and the dead. Provenance: The Jules Berman collection of Mesoamerican artifacts-El Capitan Ranch and Museum, Santa Barbara, CA--owner and importer of Kahlua Liquor. Condition: Excellent presentation. Areas of the forehead, cap, horn and upper back lightly scuffed or abraded. Manganese and nice, rich earthen deposits and root marks attesting to its authenticity. Listed at a fraction of acquisition costs. Best offers will be considered as well.All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
Price: 2900 USD
Location: Libertyville, Illinois
End Time: 2024-12-24T17:28:29.000Z
Shipping Cost: 125 USD
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Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Culture: Latin American
