Model of a House with Figurines
- Culture
- Nayarit
- Date
- c.300 BCE–300 CE
- Material
- Ceramic with pigment
- Classification
- Ceramics, models & maquettes
- Collection
- Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 114
- Dimensions
- 14 1/8 x 7 7/8 x 6 in. (35.9 x 20 x 15.2 cm)
- Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 223:1957
NOTES
This miniature version of a house, with a below ground space and lounging dog, conveys many details about Nayarit architecture and domestic life. The activities of the various residents and geometric exterior decoration provide insight into their daily existence. Rather than an anecdotal representation of the everyday, this scene may have had a more symbolic function. The elites of West Mexico often placed their deceased ancestors in shaft tombs populated with ceramic sculptures of humans, animals, and food vessels. The lower level of this intricate house model may link the below ground burial and ancestors with the realm of the living above.
Provenance
- 1957
Edward Primus, Guadalajara, Mexico
1957 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Edward Primus [1]
Notes:
[1] A letter dated October 16, 1957 from Charles Nagel of the Saint Louis Art Museum to Edward Primus documents the purchase of this object, described as "Nayrit [sic] house with figures" [SLAM Archives, Director's Correspondence]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control and the Advisory Committee of the City Art Museum, October 10, 1957.
Edward Primus, Guadalajara, Mexico
1957 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Edward Primus [1]
Notes:
[1] A letter dated October 16, 1957 from Charles Nagel of the Saint Louis Art Museum to Edward Primus documents the purchase of this object, described as "Nayrit [sic] house with figures" [SLAM Archives, Director's Correspondence]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control and the Advisory Committee of the City Art Museum, October 10, 1957.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.