174 - Seated androgynous figure

Seated androgynous figure Beige and orange terracotta, showing signs of age. Colima, western Mexico, Late Preclassic period, 100 B.C. to 250 A.D. 10 x 8 cm Provenance: Former Mythes et Légendes Gallery, Paris. Certificate by Michel Cohen dated December 28, 1978. Far from the great cities of central Mexico, the cultures of the West—of which Colima is one of the most accomplished—developed a terracotta art focused on people and their daily lives: musicians, porters, couples, domestic animals, and figures captured in the moment with a surprising freedom of expression. These small figures, modeled with an economy of means that gives them their charm, are among the most vivid testimonies to village life in western Mexico. This figure captivates with its contained strength and the softness of its modeling. Seated directly on the ground, legs extended and arms folded in a semicircle across the knees, the figure, dressed in a skirt, draws itself inward into a posture of perfect stability. The face, adorned with a nasal ornament and a ribbed headband, completes this compact composition, in which every element contributes to the impression of calm and concentration. General Bibliography: Richard F. Townsend (ed.), *Ancient West Mexico: Art and Archaeology of the Unknown Past*, Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, and London: Thames & Hudson, 1998.