TLATICO, Mexique, 1100-900 av. J.-C.

Standing figure, h. 8.5 cm. This terracotta figure comes from Tlatilco, a village in the Mexico Basin that dates back to the pre-Classical period and whose soils have yielded a large number of very expressive terracotta funerary figurines. This singular work presents an imposing head, animated by very large oval eyes with a raised rim. The nose is sharp and pointed. The mouth is almost imperceptible and the chin is almost non-existent. The lower jaw is almost straight, in line with the ears adorned with circular drums. The skull is girded by a band and the top seems to have undergone a ritual deformation, as was the custom in Mesoamerica among the elites and this since ancient times. The very short arms are folded over the small torso. The fingers of the hands are summarily signified by a few grooves made in the still wet earth. The navel is present on a formed belly. The formed hips extend into thick, pear-shaped legs. The schematic feet can be made out by a few grooves supposed to represent the toes. The left leg is longer than the other