id:			155441
accession number:	1990.169
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1990.169
updated:		2023-03-14 12:01:41.735000

Standing Female Figure, c. 1000–1500. Mexico, Gulf Coast, Huastec. Stone; overall: 70 x 33 x 22.5 cm (27 9/16 x 13 x 8 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener 1990.169

title:				Standing Female Figure
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1000–1500
creation date earliest:		1000
creation date latest:		1500
current location:		
creditline:			Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener
copyright:			

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culture:	Mexico, Gulf Coast, Huastec
technique:	stone
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: 70 x 33 x 22.5 cm (27 9/16 x 13 x 8 7/8 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

	John A. Stokes, Upper Nyack, NY, gift to James C. and Florence C. Gruener
	date: ?-1969
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	James C. [1903-1990] and Florence C. [1908-1982] Gruener, Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: 1969-1990
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: 1990
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:
The position of the figure’s hands on her belly may suggest motherhood.

digital description:
The female depicted in this sculpture wears a serpent-maw headdress—the female’s head appears within the jaws of the serpent, whose eyes can be seen on the “fan” of stone around the head. Many elite Mesoamerican people of the period are shown wearing similar headdresses, suggesting that such sculptures represent noble women. In the past, they have been interpreted as supernatural beings.

wall description:
Large-scale stone figural sculputres are rare in Mesoamerican art. This Huactec example probably represents a goddess or her human impersonator. The Aztecs of central Mexico incorporated many Huaxtec deities into their own pantheon; Aztec stone sculpture also took inspiration from the Huaxtec tradition.
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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. 99, p. 273, Reproduced: fig. 99, p. 261
	url:		http://www.jstor.org/stable/25161367.

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1990.169/1990.169_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1990.169/1990.169_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1990.169/1990.169_full.tif