STANDING MAN

PENA DEL TORO - MICHOACAN – Mexico

400 – 100 B.C.

Height : 15.5 cm - Width : 4.6 cm - Depth : 2.5 cm

Brown beige massive terracotta with traces of red orange paint.

 

Sculpture representing a standing man. The legs are lanky and slightly arched. The belly is thin with a hollowed-out navel. He is bare-chest and wears a loincloth that covers his hips. The arms adorned with bracelets are folded and the hands lay on the waist. The face has been delicately modeled. The open mouth shows the gums. The turned up nose has its nostrils pierced. The almond shaped eyes are oblique and have been carved. His set of jewels, composed of a pectoral plaque, bracelets on both arms, circular earrings and a high headdress attached by a chinstrap, has been realized with the pelletizing technique. The headdress has a grooved band topped by a very expressive monkey’s head. Red paint is applied on the feet, the hands and the headdress.

Michoacán culture was located in Michoacán State in Western Mexico. It is renowned for the quality of its terracotta production, always full of life. This standing woman perfectly reveals the mastery of the pelletizing technique by the meticulousness of the details and the fineness of the incised motifs.