This is the rating and price for Fine Matched Pair Zacatecas Polychrome Figures W/ Tl, 1989

Description : Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Jalisco, near Teocaltiche, Zacatecas culture, Protoclassic period, ca. 100 BCE to 250 CE. A fabulous pair of hollow-built pottery figures seated on ample thighs and conical posteriors. The figures present nude with vibrant red slip as the ground for further cream and black negative resist linear and geometric motifs which course across the chest, legs, arms, and heads. The female sits upright with arms curved to her hips with exposed breasts decorated with small circular patterns, and the man is hunched over while playing a cylindrical drum held between his knees. Each stylized head boasts openwork eyes and lips, prominent noses, semicircular ears with serrated earrings and perforations, and high-raised brows, with two button-shaped hair nodules projecting from the man's brow. Hollow figures like these examples are found throughout areas of Jalisco, Mexico within deep shaft tombs which suggest they are offerings to the deceased. Two striking examples from ancient West Mexico! Size of largest (female): 7.25 W x 13.5 H (18.4 cm x 34.3 cm). The sculptural creations from the Zacatecas peoples are some of the most admired figures to come out of ancient West Mexico. The consistency of form as well as the bright, recognizable colors of the slip pigmentation, and highly-abstract presentation make them some of the most unique ceramic statues from anywhere in the world, and male/female figures like these examples are often found in pairs exhibiting similar stylization. Though specific to areas of Jalisco, Mexico, these statues are often scarce as scholars believe they were produced only for a brief period of ancient Mesoamerican history. For a few strikingly-similar examples, please see: Kan, Michael, Clement Meighan, and H. B. Nicholson. Sculpture of Ancient West Mexico: Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima: A Catalogue of the Proctor Stafford Collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1989, pp. 126-127, figs. 99 a-b, 102. A pair of strikingly-similar examples hammered for $21,250 at Sotheby's, New York The Collection of Edwin & Cherie Silver auction (November 13, 2017, lot 32): This piece has been tested using thermoluminescence (TL) analysis and has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full report will accompany purchase. Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection, ex-private Beverly Hills, California, USA collection All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience. #144381
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