Standing Female Figurine
- Culture
- Teotihuacan
- Date
- c.100–200 CE
- Material
- Ceramic
- made in
- Mexico state, Mexico, North and Central America
- Classification
- Ceramics, sculpture
- Collection
- Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 114
- Dimensions
- 5 11/16 x 3 11/16 x 1 7/16 in. (14.4 x 9.4 x 3.7 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Morton D. May
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 232:1978
NOTES
With its wide turban and triangular upper garment, this figurine probably represents an elite Teotihuacan woman. The simple rendering of the face, with quick, assured horizontal strokes, suggests a date early in the city’s history. The flat bands of the turban may have provided support for more ephemeral headgear. The figure has a narrow strip of clay on the back that acts as a stand. It may be that such figurines were arranged in tableaus that allowed everyday citizens, or even children, to represent and record events around them.
Provenance
- 1967
Bill Pearson (1920-2002), San Francisco, CA, USA
1967 - 1978
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, USA, purchased from Bill Pearson [1]
1978 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, gift of Morton D. May [2]
Notes:
[1] Per invoice from Bill Pearson to Morton D. May dated July 6, 1967, the object is listed as "9. Figurine, Standing, Classic Teotihuacan" [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[2] A letter from Morton D. May to James N. Wood dated September 29, 1978 records this donation [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, December 13, 1978.
Bill Pearson (1920-2002), San Francisco, CA, USA
1967 - 1978
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, USA, purchased from Bill Pearson [1]
1978 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, gift of Morton D. May [2]
Notes:
[1] Per invoice from Bill Pearson to Morton D. May dated July 6, 1967, the object is listed as "9. Figurine, Standing, Classic Teotihuacan" [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[2] A letter from Morton D. May to James N. Wood dated September 29, 1978 records this donation [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, December 13, 1978.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.