1150 - 900 B.C.
Sculpture representing a standing goddess.
The legs with wide hips are lightly apart. The toes of the feet are marked by thin grooves. The circular navel is perforated. The breasts in light relief are small and sharp. The arms are shortened and the fingers of the hands are evoked by fine cuts. The head rests on a large neck. The triangular-shaped face is finely modeled. The chin is sharp. The oval mouth is open and shows the teeth. The nose is straight. The rectilinear ears are salient and decorated with chevrons, the lobes are pierced. The elongated eyes have perforated pupils. The arches of the eyebrows are in relief and join the root of the nose. The head is elongated and the top of it is flattened due to a ritual distortion. The goddess is adorned with an important headdress decorated with a stylized bird. The beak is evoked by an engraved lozenge and the eyes are perforated. The wings are widely spread and the feathers are represented by thin grooves.
The Tlatilco culture, of which the name means “the place of hidden things” in Nahuatl, has developed in the valley of Mexico between 1200 and 800 B.C. Its sculptures are mainly terracotta and ceramics depicting feminine figures with generous shapes and accentuated attributes. The one we present you is exceptional and unique as it is the largest known to date. Its excellent condition as well as its great expressivity typical of Tlatilco figures make it a work of rare quality.
