Michoacán Female Figure

John Stokes, New York, acquired in the late 1960s

Sotheby's New York, May 16, 2014, lot 235, consigned by the above

Acquired at the above auction by the present owner

The Art Institute of Chicago, Ancient West Mexico: Art and Archaeology of the Unknown Past, September 5 - November 22, 1998

The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, long term loan, 2002 - 2010

Gerald Berjonneau, Émile Deletaille, and Jean-Louis Sonnery, Rediscovered Masterpieces of Mesoamerica, Boulogne, 1985, p. 104, fig. 121

Richard F. Townsend, ed., Ancient West Mexico: Art and Archaeology of the Unknown Past, Chicago, 1998, p. 250, fig. 1

The attenuated and compact form of the present figure possesses a powerful and expressive aura far greater than her actual dimension. Her large eyes, delicate features, and tightly pressed arms and legs are classic elements of the Preclassic solid figure genre, which achieves a surpassing level of refinement in this figure.

The style is associated with the El Opeño culture from western Michoácan, which had a strong connection to Olmec culture. This figure’s subtle posture, with arched shoulders and relaxed knees, recalls Olmec standing figures of clay and stone.¹

For a similar figure, see Sotheby’s, Paris, Collection de Barbier-Mueller. Art Précolombien, March 22, 2013, lot 193. 

¹ Joseph B. Mountjoy, “The Evolution of Complex Societies in West Mexico: a Comparative Perspective”, in Richard F. Townsend, ed., Ancient West Mexico, Art and Archaeology of the Unknown Past, Chicago, 1998, p. 253.