From the great Highland Mexican metropolis of Teotihuacan, the largest city in the Pre-Columbian Americas, dating to the Xolalpan / Metepec phase (c. 450 – 650 CE) at the height of its cultural reach.
A rare and finely modeled Pre-Columbian Teotihuacan polychrome pottery head in buff-colored earthenware, depicting a noble or deity figure. The face is modeled with serene almond-shaped eyes, a straight nose, and softly closed lips, retaining vivid traces of the original red-orange (hematite) and white pigment across the cheeks, lips, headband, and around the eyes, a hallmark of Teotihuacan's painted ceramic tradition. The figure wears a tall multi-tiered headdress composed of horizontal bands, a fringed brow-fillet, and three prominent circular disc ornaments flanking the crown, symbolic of jade or shell roundels and associated with elite or priestly status in Teotihuacan iconography. Large disc ear ornaments (orejeras) project laterally from each side, and a beaded collar in low relief frames the throat.
The reverse is left undecorated and slightly hollowed, characteristic of mold-made architectural appliqués or theater-type censer ornaments produced in Teotihuacan's specialized ceramic workshops.
Buff-fired earthenware with scattered white mineral deposits across the surface, consistent with long burial in the calcareous soils of the Valley of Mexico. Original red-orange and white pigment remain stable in the recessed and protected areas.
Provenance: Private collection, Mercer Island, Washington, by descent from Ruth Goldwyn Capps and Henry McClure "Mac" Capps, the latter an art director and production designer for television and film in the mid-1950s. Old auction lot tag "48" affixed to the base, indicating earlier auction or estate-sale history.
Condition Excellent ancient condition for a fragmentary appliqué. Anciently broken at the edges with losses to portions of the headdress; surface wear, mineral deposits, and pigment loss commensurate with approximately 1,400–1,600 years of age. Stably mounted on custom base.
Dimensions Head: 2-1/2 inches H × 3-1/4 inches W; Size 4 inches mounted on a custom black wood pyramidal display base
Teotihuacan was the largest city in the Pre-Columbian Americas, with a peak population estimated at 125,000+. Its ceramic appliqué heads — particularly polychrome examples with intact headdresses — are well represented in major institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the de Young Museum, and the Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City. Surviving polychrome makes this a rare type for the market.
