Standing Female Figurine
- Culture
- Chupícuaro
- Date
- c.300 BCE–300 CE
- Material
- Ceramic with slip
- associated with
- Guanajuato state, Mexico, North and Central America
- associated with
- Acámbaro, Guanajuato state, Mexico, North and Central America
- Classification
- Ceramics, sculpture
- Collection
- Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 114
- Dimensions
- 9 5/8 x 5 5/8 x 3 1/4 in. (24.4 x 14.3 x 8.3 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Morton D. May
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 242:1978
NOTES
With its geometric body designs and bold red and black palette, this female figurine represents one of the most iconic images from ancient West Mexico. The body decorations may have mimicked textile designs or indicated a specific status or ritual performance. The figure's exaggerated hips are generally thought to reference female fertility.
Provenance
- 1967
Everett Rassiga Inc., New York, NY, USA
1967 - 1978
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Everett Rassiga Inc. [1]
1978 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Morton D. May [2]
Notes:
[1] An invoice dated July 29, 1967 from Everett Rassiga Inc. documents this purchase, listed as "Group of 6 Chupicuaro hollow polychromed figures, no's 2402, 2403, 2404, 2405, 2406, 2407." An additional document from Morton D. May dated August 3, 1967 identifies this object as "taken by me [MDM] from [May] Company's purchase from Rassiga Gallery," listed as "Chupicuaro figure" [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[2] A letter dated September 29, 1978 from Morton D. May to James N. Wood, director of the Saint Louis Art Museum, includes the offer of this object as part of a larger donation [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, December 13, 1978.
Everett Rassiga Inc., New York, NY, USA
1967 - 1978
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Everett Rassiga Inc. [1]
1978 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Morton D. May [2]
Notes:
[1] An invoice dated July 29, 1967 from Everett Rassiga Inc. documents this purchase, listed as "Group of 6 Chupicuaro hollow polychromed figures, no's 2402, 2403, 2404, 2405, 2406, 2407." An additional document from Morton D. May dated August 3, 1967 identifies this object as "taken by me [MDM] from [May] Company's purchase from Rassiga Gallery," listed as "Chupicuaro figure" [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[2] A letter dated September 29, 1978 from Morton D. May to James N. Wood, director of the Saint Louis Art Museum, includes the offer of this object as part of a larger donation [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, December 13, 1978.
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