Lot 25

Three Nayarit & Jalisco Polychrome Figures

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Lot 25
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Three Nayarit & Jalisco Polychrome Figures
Three Nayarit & Jalisco Polychrome Figures
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Three Nayarit & Jalisco Polychrome Figures

Estimate: $800 - $1,200

Starting Bid: $350

(0 Bids)
by Artemis Fine Arts
June 25, 2026 9:00 AM MDT
Live Auction
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

Pre-Columbian, Western Mexico, Nayarit culture, ca. 100 BCE to 250 CE; Jalisco culture, ca. 100 BCE to 300 CE; Mesoamerica, Maya culture, ca. 250 to 900 CE. A trio of hand-modeled ceramic figures spanning the breadth of Pre-Columbian figurative tradition, each a distinct meditation on the human form and its spiritual charge. The largest, a Jalisco standing female figure, rises with quiet authority, her body bisected by horizontal bands of red slip that read as garment or ritual body paint, her arms held slightly away from her torso in the characteristic posture of alert presence. The face is serene and broad, with the tapered helmet-coiffure common to Jalisco types. Beside her, the Nayarit crouching figure folds inward upon itself, knees pulled close and arms braced across them, the posture conveying either contemplative withdrawal or the compressed vitality often associated with healers and shamans in West Mexican mortuary assemblages. On the verso, the posterior thoracic cage protrudes markedly, the visible articulation of ribs rendered with unsentimental anatomical frankness, a detail that elevates this figure well above the generic and situates it within the distinguished tradition of West Mexican figures depicting physical difference as social and perhaps ritual distinction. The redware seated female, perhaps Maya, is the most overtly narrative of the three: prominently modeled breasts, a distended pregnant abdomen cradled by both hands, and large circular earspools framing a face of considerable expressive refinement. Together, the figures chart the full arc of Formative to Early Classic concern with fertility, transformation, and the body as sacred vessel. Size of largest (standing figure): 4" W x 7.3" H (10.2 cm W x 18.5 cm H)

Provenance: private Colorado, USA collection; Standing & Smallest: ex-private Los Angeles, California, USA collection; ex-major gallery, Beverly Hills, California, USA, primarily acquired between 1985 and 2005

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Item # 202441

  • Condition: Good. Standing figure has been professionally repaired with restoration over some break lines and others visible in areas, also some losses to top of head. All have expected surface wear as shown. Otherwise, both seated figures are in tact and all are very nice with good remaining detail.

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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