The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

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

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

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.
  • Milliken, William. "Two Pre-Columbian Sculptures." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 42, no. 4 (April 1955): 59-61. Reproduced: p. 57; Mentioned: p. 60 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 366 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 292 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 291 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 394 archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art, and Jenifer Neils. The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Museum in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1982. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 74, no. 78
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 10 archive.org
  • Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; June 29-September 5, 1982. "The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from The Cleveland Museum of Art," exh. cat. no. 78, repr. in black and white, p. 74, repr. in color, pl. 8.
    The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 20-August 22, 1982).
    Before Cortes: Sculpture of Middle America. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (September 30, 1970-January 3, 1971).
    New York, NY: The Metropolitan Museum of Art; September 30, 1970 - January 3, 1971.
    "Before Cortes. Sculpture of Middle America", repr. in catalogue, in black and white, p. 194, no.155.
    Juxtapositions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (September 11-October 10, 1965).
    In Memoriam: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 4-April 7, 1958).
    Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; March 4-April 6, 1958. "In Memoriam: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.," cat. no. 172.
  • {{cite web|title=Seated Figure|url=false|author=|year=300 BCE–700 CE (thermoluminescence date, 285 BCE–515 CE)|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1954.857