Lot 23

Tlatilco Pottery Rattle Figure - Seated Nude Female, Possible Birthing Pose

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Lot 23
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Tlatilco Pottery Rattle Figure - Seated Nude Female, Possible Birthing Pose
Tlatilco Pottery Rattle Figure - Seated Nude Female, Possible Birthing Pose
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Tlatilco Pottery Rattle Figure - Seated Nude Female, Possible Birthing Pose

Estimate: $800 - $1,200

Starting Bid: $400

(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, Tlatilco, ca. 1200–900 BCE. A hollow burnished terracotta figure of a seated nude woman, her legs drawn wide from full, rounded thighs, her body caught in a moment of visceral concentration. The proper right hand rises to an open, parted mouth while the left presses against a swollen abdomen, a gesture that reads convincingly as parturition. The broadly modeled head bears an elongated cranium, deep-set punctate eyes, and a fleshy nose and lips, hallmarks of the Preclassic modeling tradition of the central Mexican highlands. The hollow interior conceals loose clay pellets, so that the figure doubles as a rattle, its rhythmic sound likely bound to the fertility and life-cycle rites for which such images were made. Traces of a lustrous slip survive across the softly abraded surface, warm brown mottled with earthen ochre. Size: 3.4" W x 4.6" H x 3.1" D (8.6 cm W x 11.7 cm H x 7.9 cm D).

Tlatilco, on the western shore of the ancient Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico, flourished as a village culture whose burials yielded an abundance of ceramic figurines, many of them nude women. Scholars associate these small effigies with fertility, regeneration, and the female life cycle, themes that a figure in a birthing posture would render explicit. The rattle function joins the object to a broad Mesoamerican vocabulary in which sound accompanied ritual; sonorous figures of this kind may have served shamanic or curative purposes, their voice summoned in ceremonies tied to abundance and reproduction. Tlatilco's material culture shows contact with Olmec currents from the Gulf Coast, and its hollow, animated figures anticipate the West Mexican ceramic traditions of later centuries.

Provenance: ex-David Zahler collection, acquired between 1975 to 2004

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Item # 203757

  • Condition: Still functions as a rattle. Small chip to proper left foot, as well as some nicks and abrasions to surface as shown, all commensurate with age. Otherwise, intact and excellent with liberal remaining detail and rich earthen deposits throughout.

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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