Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female
Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female
Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female
Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female
Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female
Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female
Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female
Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female
Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female
Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female
Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female
Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female
Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female
Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female
Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female
Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female
Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female
Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female

Fine Nayarit Chinesco “Type B” Seated Female

17653

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West Mexico; (Lagunillas region); shaft-tomb tradition  Protoclassic, ca. 100 B.C. to A.D. 250 

A fine hollow ceramic seated female figure in the classic Chinesco "Type B" style, the red-brown burnished body holding both hands to the waist, with rounded knees drawn up as if kneeling. The figure has the diagnostic rounded, heart-shaped head, incised striated coiffure, narrow slit ("coffee-bean") eyes, and applied nose ring. Deep-brown negative-resist triangular elements cross the chest to form a double sash, with further resist highlights on the face and knees. The hollow body has an opening at the back/top of the head, typical of the type. Intact, excellent condition; a nice example.

"Chinesco" (Spanish for "Chinese-like") is a dealer term for an elegant, refined class of Nayarit shaft-tomb figures whose serene faces reminded early collectors of East Asian features. Hasso von Winning and Sidney Newman classified the Lagunillas-region figures into types (A–E); Type B is distinguished by the rounded heart-shaped head, striated/incised hair, slit eyes, nose ring, and resist body decoration — exactly the features seen here. These hollow figures were funerary offerings placed in deep shaft tombs (tumbas de tiro), associated with fertility and the cycles of life and death.

The negative-resist "double sash" across the chest and the resist highlights on face and knees are characteristic Type B surface treatments, achieved by masking areas before applying a darkening agent. The compact, knees-drawn-up seated pose is the signature Chinesco silhouette.

Condition: Intact, excellent condition; minor pigment loss/wear consistent with age. Size: 8 in. H × 5-1/4 in. W (20.3 cm × 13.3 cm)

cf. Chinesco Type B females at the Metropolitan Museum, Birmingham Museum of Art, and published examples in von Winning & Newman 

Provenance: Private California collection; ex Robert Dowling, San Francisco, CA.

Every object is guaranteed authentic and as described, and has been legally acquired and imported in accordance with U.S. and applicable foreign regulations on the movement and sale of antiquities. A signed certificate of authenticity with a description and photograph accompanies this object. Any restoration is described on the invoice.

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