Lot 31

3 Nayarit Pottery Male & Female Seated Figures

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Lot 31
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3 Nayarit Pottery Male & Female Seated Figures
3 Nayarit Pottery Male & Female Seated Figures
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3 Nayarit Pottery Male & Female Seated Figures

Estimate: $900 - $1,300

Starting Bid: $350

(0 Bids)
by Artemis Fine Arts
August 6, 2026 9:00 AM MDT
Live Auction
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Nayarit culture, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A group of three Nayarit terracotta figures presents a domestic gathering rendered in the direct, unsentimental idiom characteristic of West Mexican shaft-tomb art. The largest figure, a female seated with legs extended forward, is modeled in unadorned red-orange terracotta, her broad shoulders and individually characterized face carrying their authority through form alone, without the assistance of pigment. The petite male figure wrapped in a blanket or mantle that conceals his arms, lower body, and, from the frontal view, a modeled phallus visible only beneath the garment, retains traces of lighter pigment articulating stripes across the blanket, the pupils of the eyes, and the earspools, lending him a dressed and ornamented presence despite his diminutive scale. Size of largest: 4.1" W x 7.4" H x 2.6" D (10.4 cm W x 18.8 cm H x 6.6 cm D)

The mid-size figure is female, her four pendant limbs placing her either standing or seated upon a bench or chair, a posture associated with rank in Nayarit tomb assemblages; her body is adorned with both light and dark pigments applied in stripes and dots, and her genitalia are explicitly modeled, rendered with the frank anatomical candor characteristic of West Mexican funerary ceramics. Together the trio embodies the Nayarit practice of assembling sexually differentiated figural groups for shaft-tomb interment, each body fully inventoried, each social identity legible, the whole conceived as a small represented household dispatched intact into the afterlife.

Provenance: private Colorado, USA collection, ex collection of Y. Kayvan, Los Angeles, California, USA, acquired from Barakat Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA, acquisition dates range from the late 1990s to 2005

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Item # 202806

  • Condition: Largest has been professionally repaired with restoration over break lines; all done very well and difficult to notice. Chipping to proper left side of headdress. Mid-size figure has been repaired with chipping and infill along visible break lines. Most petite figure has some small areas of restoration to headdress and right shoulder. All have expected weathering to surface with nicks and abrasions as shown. Good remaining pigments and detail with scattered earthen deposits.

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000