id:			155412
accession number:	1990.142
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1990.142
updated:		2022-09-22 10:25:19.473000

Female Figurine, c. 400–100 BC. Mexico, Guanajuato, Chupícuaro. Earthenware with pigment; overall: 7.5 x 3.5 x 1.2 cm (2 15/16 x 1 3/8 x 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener 1990.142

title:				Female Figurine
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 400–100 BC
creation date earliest:		-400
creation date latest:		-100
current location:		
creditline:			Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener
copyright:			

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culture:	Mexico, Guanajuato, Chupícuaro
technique:	earthenware with pigment
department:	Art of the Americas
collection:	AA - Mesoamerica
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 7.5 x 3.5 x 1.2 cm (2 15/16 x 1 3/8 x 1/2 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art
	opening date:   1992-02-04T05:00:00
	<i>The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 4-November 29, 1992).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* 

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PROVENANCE

	(Antique shop in Los Angeles, sold to James C. and Florence C. Gruenef)
	date: ?-1961
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	James C. [1903-1990] and Florence C. [1908-1982] Gruener, Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: 1961-1990
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1990-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 
This figurine is small enough to fit comfortably in the palm of your hand.

digital description: 
Small, solid, hand-modeled figurines were a staple of the early Mesoamerican artistic repertoire. Made in distinctive styles corresponding to geographic regions, they likely were used in a variety of contexts, including rites to assure health, fertility, and prosperity. This example is from the Chupícuaro region, north of modern-day Mexico City.

wall description: 
Burials from ancient villages near Chupícuaro, Guanajuato, contain hundreds of pottery offerings. These include brightly colored vessels and solid figurines decorated with appliqué and incision. The cheerful, informal figurines were probably intended to provide the dead with companionship, and to remind them of their loved ones.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Young-Sánchez, Margaret. "The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 79, no. 7 (1992): 234-75.
	page number: 	Referenced: cat. no. 11, p. 267, Reproduced: fig. 11, p. 242.
	url:		http://www.jstor.org/stable/25161367.

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1990.142/1990.142_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1990.142/1990.142_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1990.142/1990.142_full.tif