Standing Male Figurine
- Culture
- Wari
- Date
- c.600–1000
- Material
- Stone
- made in
- Peru, South America
- Classification
- Sculpture, stone & mineral
- Collection
- Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 111
- Dimensions
- 1 1/4 x 9/16 x 5/8 in. (3.2 x 1.4 x 1.6 cm)
base: 2 x 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 in. (5.1 x 3.8 x 3.8 cm) - Credit Line
- Gift of J. Lionberger Davis
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 167:1954
NOTES
This figurine is likely carved from turquoise, a blue-green stone associated with fertility, elite status, and wealth in Wari times. The figure stands erect with arms at sides wearing a single tunic-like garment that falls to the lower legs. The oversized face appears expressionless with wide almond-shaped eyes and fine lips parted by a small incision. Figurines like this one are frequently associated with complex group offerings linked to ancestor worship. Three figurine caches have been recovered from the site of Pikillacta, a massive Wari outpost near Cuzco in the southern highlands of Peru. In other locales, individual figurines have been found in tombs and the surface of sites. While the majority of the known figurines seem to represent individuals with distinct clothing and headdresses, some appear as identical matches.
Provenance
- 1950
A. Salazar, Lima, Peru
1950 - 1954
J. Lionberger Davis (1878–1973), St. Louis, MO, USA, purchased from A. Salazar [1]
1954 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by J. Lionberger Davis [2]
Notes:
[1] According to a list of objects given to the museum by J. Lionberger Davis, this object was purchased from "Salazar in Peru in 1950." A note found on the accession further identifies it was purchased from "A. Salazar, Lima, Peru" [SLAM document files].
[2] A letter dated December 15, 1954 from Perry T. Rathbone, director of the City Art Museum, to Davis acknowledges the gift of this object as part of a larger donation [Director's Office, Donor Files, Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, December 9, 1954.
A. Salazar, Lima, Peru
1950 - 1954
J. Lionberger Davis (1878–1973), St. Louis, MO, USA, purchased from A. Salazar [1]
1954 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by J. Lionberger Davis [2]
Notes:
[1] According to a list of objects given to the museum by J. Lionberger Davis, this object was purchased from "Salazar in Peru in 1950." A note found on the accession further identifies it was purchased from "A. Salazar, Lima, Peru" [SLAM document files].
[2] A letter dated December 15, 1954 from Perry T. Rathbone, director of the City Art Museum, to Davis acknowledges the gift of this object as part of a larger donation [Director's Office, Donor Files, Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, December 9, 1954.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.