{"product_id":"nayarit-terracotta-mother-holding-a-child","title":"Nayarit Terracotta Mother Holding a Child","description":"\u003cp\u003eWest Mexico, ca. 250 BCE–200 CE  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA tender and expressive Pre-Columbian Nayarit terracotta figure of a mother holding a child across her lap. Modeled in red clay with red and white painted areas over a buff slip and heavy manganese deposits from burial, the seated woman cradles her infant with both arms, wearing armbands, a nose ring, and a banded headdress. Her abstract, rounded forms and gentle downward gaze give the piece a quiet, affecting personality characteristic of the finest Nayarit domestic imagery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFigures of this type functioned as funerary offerings, placed in the deep shaft tombs of West Mexico to accompany and honor the deceased; maternal and family groups in particular celebrated lineage, fertility, and continuity, serving as enduring companions for the dead and as records of the social world of the living. The figure measures 4 7\/8 inches (12.4 cm) in height. The surface retains its original slip with characteristic mineral and manganese encrustation consistent with authentic age and burial.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCf. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, for a closely related Nayarit seated maternal figure of the same shaft-tomb tradition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eProvenance: The Lands Beyond Ltd., 1218 Lexington Avenue, New York (Registry No. AY), with a scan of a cert signed by Kenneth Bower, describing the piece as a Nayarit kneeling woman holding a child, ca. 250 BCE–200 CE.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Art for Eternity","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53809402446138,"sku":"17705","price":395.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0775\/5120\/6714\/files\/17705.jpg?v=1785268138","url":"https:\/\/howardnowes.com\/products\/nayarit-terracotta-mother-holding-a-child","provider":"Art for Eternity","version":"1.0","type":"link"}