Artwork Page for Seated Figure

Details / Information for Seated Figure

Seated Figure

300 BCE–700 CE (thermoluminescence date, 285 BCE–515 CE)

Mexico, Oaxaca, Zapotec style

Medium
ceramic, slip
Measurements
Overall: 32.2 x 17.9 x 18.8 cm (12 11/16 x 7 1/16 x 7 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Hanna Fund 1954.857
Public Domain
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Location
233 Mesoamerican and Intermediate Region
Print

Description

The most famous Zapotec tomb ceramics are elaborate figural urns flanked by smaller, simpler companions similar to this one. Like other companions, this example probably belonged to a set of nearly identical figures; two others remain in Mexico. The identity of ceramic tomb figures-whether elite humans, royal ancestors, or deities-is still debated. The Zapotec developed one of Mesoamerica’s earliest writing systems, evidenced by the hieroglyphs on the headdress and chest. These are the names of calendar days, "13 Water" and "13 Flint Knife," respectively. Because people were named after the day on which they were born, one hieroglyph may identify the figure.
Red-brown ceramic statue of a lanky figure seated cross-legged, hands resting on their knees, with defined gaps between their arms and narrow torso. They wear a squared hat with straps extending down in front of the ears, though their left ear has broken off, and have bucked teeth, and are cross-eyed. On the figure's chest and hat are Zapotec hieroglyphs, a writing system of the Indigenous Mexican people.

Seated Figure

300 BCE–700 CE (thermoluminescence date, 285 BCE–515 CE)

Mexico, Oaxaca, Zapotec style

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