162 - A figure known as “Baby Face”

A figure known as “Baby Face” with a youthful, chubby body, depicted seated with her legs spread wide apart, ensuring a stable and grounded posture; her arms are held away from her body and slightly bent, with her hands resting on the edges of her thighs. The forms are full, continuous, and modeled with great softness, giving the figure as a whole a presence that is both reassuring and powerful. The rounded, full torso contrasts with a face bearing an intensely focused expression, turned toward the sky in a gesture of appeal, reception, or communication with higher powers. The slightly parted mouth reveals the teeth, accentuating the expressive tension of the face, while the deeply sculpted gaze reinforces this impression of inner gravity. The head is adorned with two symmetrical braids joined into a convex bun, highlighted with black pigments. The slip features subtle variations in shades of brown, beige, and orange, enlivening the sculpture’s surface and delicately emphasizing the contours of the body and face. Brown, beige, and orange terracotta; traces of cinnabar on the feet; small pitting at the tips of the feet; signs of age. Olmec, Mexico, Las Bocas, Preclassic period, circa 1200–550 B.C. 27 x 25.5 x 14.5 cm Provenance: acquired from Throckmorton Fine Art Gallery on July 10, 1998