Fine Chinesco Figure of a Seated Female, Lagunillas Type D Protoclassic, ca. 100 B.C.- A.D. 250

the idealized and stylized young woman resting dynamically in a meditative posture with hands to her waist, the legs outstretched with arched feet and toes flexed, her broad face with delicate pointed chin, eyes closed to a slit and finely striated coiffure radiating from the central part, adorned solely with a row of pendant earrings along each lobe and double necklaces,  supporting a small olla at the top of the head as spout, with highly burnished surface. 

Rea Goodman Collection, New York
Peter G. Wray Collection, acquired from the above in 1976
Harmer Rooke Galleries, New York
Andrew Crispo, New York
Harmer Rooke Galleries, New York
Connecticut private collector, acquired from the above in 1986
Sotheby's, New York, November 19, 1990, lot 186

New York, Pre-Columbian Art from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Peter G. Wray, Harmer Rooke Galleries, New York, October 4, 1984-January 5, 1985, cat. no. 83

Excellent condition overall; appears intact; fine color and burnished surface, and modeling.
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.

The stylized Lagunillas figures from Nayarit are divided into four categories of varying abstraction. As Furst noted "...their remarkably aesthetic appeal and quality of execution, ... causes them to stand out unmistakably amid West Mexican tomb art" (von Winning 1974 citing Furst 1966:7-38).

Chinesco figures honor the coming of age of young females, portraying them in the rite of passage to womanhood. This figure defines the gemlike quality of Types C and D, featuring the highly burnished reddish brown body in contrast to the serene earthen facial tones. Great attention is devoted to the finely striated coiffure and the refined but minimal jewelry.  See Mexique, Terre des Dieux, Musée Rath, Geneva, 1998, fig. 114, for a similar figure; and Butterwick (2004: fig. 41) for a figure in the Andrall E. Pearson Family Collection,  The Metropolitan Museum of Art.