A Chinesco Seated Female figure, Type E, Protoclassic, ca. 100 B.C.-A.D. 250

kneeling on folded legs in a confident and demure posture, with distinctly content expression of slightly smiling mouth, eyes closed and lower lip pulled in, with scarified cheeks, tiny nose bead and black eye mask, the right arm with delicate bracelet and wearing a thin belt with loincloth indicated below, resist crisscrossed designs on the arms. 

Acquired prior to 1972

Overall excellent, some wear to the blackened paint and reddish brown slips,but appears intact.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This figure is a fine example of the particularly introspective Lagunillas style known as Chinesco.  The confident and serene females represent young women in a rite of passage which  Townsend (1998) describes as the 'ritual of nudity', where figures are solely adorned with delicate jewelry. The refinement, detail and burnish of these figures are in stark contrast to the elaborately clothed and ornamented figures of the other Nayarit styles.

For the type and similar figures, see Holsbeke and Arnaut (1998: pl. 101); Townsend, (1998: cat. nos. 214, 215); Sotheby's, May 9, 2006, lot 170, and Sotheby's, November 23, 1992, lot 118.