Female Figurine (c. 400–100 BCE): Art, History and Details

Female Figurine (c. 400–100 BCE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Burials from ancient villages near Chupicuaro, Guanajuato, contain hundreds of pottery offerings, ranging from brightly colored vessels to figurines decorated with appliqué and incision. The body and head of this female were formed of flattened clay; appliqués were added to create the facial features and ornaments. This carefully crafted figurine is extraordinarily large and exceptionally well preserved.

Object facts

• Title: Female Figurine
• Date: c. 400–100 BCE
• Culture: Mexico, Guanajuato or Michoacán, Chupícuaro
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: ceramic, pigment
• Dimensions: Overall: 22.5 x 10.5 cm (8 7/8 x 4 1/8 in.)
• Collection: AA - Mesoamerica
• Department: Art of the Americas
• Accession number: 1996.291

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Bergh, Susan E. “Things That Don’t Fit (Here).” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 61, no. 1 (Winter 2021): 18.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.