NAYARIT - Couple

Couple participating in a Ceremony - NAYARIT - Mexico -100 BC. - 250 AD. - Pre-Columbian

Woman

Height : 47.3 cm

Width : 30.4 cm

Depth : 15.9 cm

Man

Height : 52 cm

Width : 28.8 cm

Depth: 18.7 cm

Brown hollow clay with red-white slip, with polychrome decorations and traces of manganese oxide

Documents (originals) provided to the acquirer:

- Certificate of authenticity of the Galerie Mermoz,

Santo Micali, Expert, (CNE) Compagnie Nationale des Experts

- Certificate of Art Loss Register

- Passport of free circulation

- Thermoluminescence report

- Invoice

This couple is a magnificent example of the ceramics of Western Mexico. It comes from the Nayarit region and more particularly, the area where the archaeological site of Ixtlan del Rio is located, which gave its name to one of the styles listed in this region. The realism of the modeling, the numerous details underlined by a beautiful polychromy and the expression that animates these characters testify to the talent of the local craftsmen, who liked to work the clay and illustrate the life of their contemporaries with an undeniable creativity.

Beyond their great originality, the value of these effigies lies in their symbolic and spiritual significance. This is attested to by the fact that these ceramics were found at the bottom of the deep well tombs typical of the region, where they undoubtedly had the noble task of accompanying the deceased on the path to the afterlife and honoring the ancestors.

Judging by the dress and adornment of the figures, and the frequency of such figures in the Nayarit, it could be the commemoration of a marriage ceremony involving dignitaries. In traditional Mesoamerican societies, the union between a man and a woman was one of the most important stages of life, from which the bride and groom changed social category and could start a family. Like any event marking a transition, this matrimonial union was the object of rites of passage, probably lasting several days, including vigils, processions and the presentation of the spouses. The figurines of couples placed in the tombs could attest that the deceased performed these rites during their earthly life.