The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 7, 2026

A tan ceramic figurine depicts a woman seated cross-legged with hands meeting over her stomach. She wears a tall, ridged headdress with a band of studs, nearly the size of her torso. She has narrowed, almond-shaped eyes beneath a red forehead mark and large, round ear ornaments. A collar with horizontal red bands covers her neck, matching remnants of pigment on her headdress, arms, and weathered base.

Seated Female Figurine

600 BCE–250 CE

Mesoamerica, Guanajuato or Michoacán, Chupícuaro

ceramic, pigments
Overall: 7.6 x 3 cm (3 x 1 3/16 in.)
In memory of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Humphreys, gift of their daughter Helen 1951.104
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Clay figurines, mainly nude females, were the most common art form of early villages throughout Mesoamerica.

Description

Clay figurines, mainly nude females, were the most common art form of early villages throughout Mesoamerica. The meanings of these sweet, small, intimate works are not known, but they are found both in human burials and in household rubbish, suggesting varied uses.
  • Stories from Storage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021).
    Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; June 8-September 4, 1956. "Monumental Sculpture in Miniature."
  • {{cite web|title=Seated Female Figurine|url=false|author=|year=600 BCE–250 CE|access-date=07 June 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1951.104