Figure of a Seated Chieftain
Nayarit
100 BCE–250 CE
Medium
Ceramic and pigment
Dimensions
71.8 × 33 cm (28 1/4 × 13 in.)
Classification
ceramics
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
151359
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Large terracotta figures were made to accompany the remains of high-ranking people in ancient West Mexican tombs. Figures are often found in male-and-female pairs, likely commemorating the marriage of the deceased. Nayarit artists also depicted other major rites of passage, such as the presentation of a baby, the initiation of warriors and chiefs, young women reaching the age of courtship and marriage, and funerary rites. Such tomb figures testified to the earthly status of the deceased, qualify...