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Seated couple
Nayarit
Proto-Classic period, Arenal Phase
100 B.C.–250 A.D.
Object Place: Nayarit, Mexico
Medium/Technique
Earthenware with slip paint
Dimensions
H. 16 in (40.6 cm), W. 12 in (30.4 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Timothy Phillips in honor of Thomas F. Phillips, Jr.
Accession Number2015.3296
CollectionsAmericas
ClassificationsCeramics – Pottery – Earthenware
DescriptionTwo seated figures, a male and a female, may depict a funerary feast or one honoring ancestors. The woman holds a small drinking cup to her mouth and the man grasps a tubular gourd for sucking liquids.The couple wears ornamental face painting, finely decorated clothing and elaborate jewelry, the remains of which frequently are found in Nayarit shaft tombs.
Provenance1949, sold by a gallery in Nayarit, Mexico, to Adrian Green, Three Rivers, CA [see note]; 1977, sold by Adrian Green to a private collector, Fresno, CA; May 16, 2013, anonymous sale, Sotheby’s, New York, lot 25, unsold; 2014, sold by a private collector to Fort Knox Antiquities, Scottsdale, AZ; 2014, sold by Knox Antiquities to Artemis Gallery, Erie, CO; 2014, sold by Artemis to Timothy Phillips, Boston; 2015, year-end gift of Timothy Phillips to the MFA. (Accession Date: February 26, 2016)
NOTE: According to a signed and notarized statement by Mr. Green supplied to Sotheby’s, New York (April 15, 2013), he acquired the figures in Nayarit in 1949 and brought them to California in 1950.
NOTE: According to a signed and notarized statement by Mr. Green supplied to Sotheby’s, New York (April 15, 2013), he acquired the figures in Nayarit in 1949 and brought them to California in 1950.