STANDING FIGURE

DIQUĺS - Atlantic Watershed - Costa Rica

700 – 1200 A.D.

Height: 91.7 cm - Width: 29 cm - Depth: 11.7 cm

Grey trachyandesite with brown beige patina   

 

The standing figure strikes us by his hieratic posture and imposing dimensions.

His eyes are closed and his face displays a serene expression. His nose is flat. The mouth, with fleshy lips, is closed and the commissures slightly pulled down. The head rests on a large neck supported by broad angular shoulders.

The body is shaped like a trapezoid and there is a visual play on symmetry. Two vertical openings separate the arms positioned along the bust and a third one separates the legs. The hands are pressed on the hips and the aligned fingers, are deeply engraved. Two grooves mark the fold of the elbows. The massive legs are modeled at the knees and the feet are treated like the hands. They are positioned vertically on a peg that serves as a base for the sculpture.

The character is adorned with a frontal headband depicting two intertwined snakes. This theme is repeated on the shoulders: two undulating snakes, whose heads cross each other on the bust to form an ornament. A last serpent is wrapped around the waist, the head positioned on the front as to form a loincloth. The body is also highlighted by the presence of fine geometric engravings on the shoulders and thighs, which evoke scarifications or body paint.

The back reveals the stylized anatomy of the figure, large shoulders and flat buttocks. Grooves emphasize the presence of the spine and various joints.