Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head
Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head
Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head
Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head
Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head
Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head
Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head
Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head
Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head
Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head
Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head
Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head
Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head
Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head
Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head
Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head
Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head
Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head
Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head
Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head

Tlatilco Pottery "Pretty Lady" Head

17494

$275.00
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Central Highlands, Mexico, ca. 1200 to 600 BCE
 
Small head from a "Pretty Lady" type figurine. The face displays the characteristic Tlatilco aesthetic: delicately modeled features with slit eyes, small nose, and defined mouth with an expressive, serene quality. The head is surmounted by a domed coiffure with applied fillets of hair arranged in a crest with notched detailing, retaining vestiges of red and ochre pigment. Circular ear spools flank the face, their interiors showing red pigment. The old collection label "32" is affixed to the black wooden pyramidal mount.

The Tlatilco "Pretty Ladies" are among the earliest figurine traditions in Mesoamerica, found predominantly in burial contexts at the site of Tlatilco in the Valley of Mexico. The elaborate attention to hairstyling — as seen in this example's raised crest with applied fillets — is a hallmark of the type, suggesting hair was culturally significant. These figurines are interpreted variously as fertility images, maize goddess representations, or secular depictions of idealized feminine beauty.

Size 1¼ in. (3.2 cm) H. plus custom mount

Condition: Head separated from body; surface wear consistent with age; remains of original polychrome pigment.

Literature: Compare similar examples in Coe, Michael D., The Jaguar's Children: Pre-Classic Central Mexico, New York: Museum of Primitive Art, 1965.

Provenance; Private Mercer Island, WA collection, by descent from Ruth Goldwyn Capps and Henry McClure Capps (1910–1991), known as "Mac," an art director and production designer in Hollywood known for The Pride of the Yankees (1942), Ball of Fire (1941), and later TV productions including Rocky Jones, Space Ranger and The Life of Riley



All pieces are unconditionally guaranteed authentic and as described in perpetuity and have been legally acquired and imported in full accordance with U.S. and applicable foreign regulations regarding the movement and sale of antiquities.

A signed guarantee of authenticity with a description and photograph of the item(s) accompanies this object.

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