Lot 30

Nayarit San Sebastian Redware Maternity Figure - Nursing Mother

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Lot 30
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Nayarit San Sebastian Redware Maternity Figure - Nursing Mother
Nayarit San Sebastian Redware Maternity Figure - Nursing Mother
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Nayarit San Sebastian Redware Maternity Figure - Nursing Mother

Estimate: $1,000 - $1,500

Starting Bid: $500

(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, ca. 100 BCE – 300 CE. A seated mother rendered in burnished redware, her ample thighs splayed to anchor a solid, columnar body. She wears a bulbous headdress that crowns the elongated skull, applique earrings, and a slim necklace, while her nudity emphasizes fertility and the domestic role she embodies. In her right hand she cradles a shallow dish; against her left breast she holds an infant, likely captured mid-nursing. The modeling is confident and economical, with pierced septum, coffee-bean eyes, and fire-clouded slip lending mottled warmth to the surface. Maternity figures of the San Sebastian Red style are among the most tender products of West Mexican shaft-tomb culture, interred as companions for the dead and enduring emblems of lineage, nourishment, and continuity across generations. Size: 6.3" W x 12.8" H x 4.9" D (16.0 cm W x 32.5 cm H x 12.4 cm D).

The San Sebastian Red type belongs to the shaft-tomb tradition of the Nayarit region of West Mexico, where the dead were placed in deep vertical shafts opening onto lateral chambers, accompanied by ceramic figures depicting warriors, ballplayers, households, and above all women and children. Maternity and nursing figures are read as expressions of fertility and ancestral continuity, affirming the vitality of the lineage even in death. The characteristic mottling seen here results from uneven, open-air firing rather than deliberate decoration, a hallmark that helps distinguish authentic examples of the tradition.

Provenance: private Saint Louis, Missouri, USA collection acquired between 1970 and 1995

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Item # 203965

  • Condition: Professionally repaired with infill along break lines and some resurfacing in areas. Chipping to feet and surface wear as shown, all commensurate with age. Otherwise, excellent presentation with good remaining detail and rich mineral 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