The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 24, 2024

Female Figurine with Headdress

Female Figurine with Headdress

1200–900 BCE
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The figure’s broad thighs may express beauty, or perhaps indicate a life stage.

Description

This ceramic figurine—in the style of Tlatilco, an early village site in central Mexico—depicts a female with a headdress or hat and long hair that cascades down her back. Since many figurines from the period depict females, modern interpreters usually connect them to fertility concerns. They also seem to testify to the importance of women among early Mesoamerican cultures.
  • ?-1957
    (Andre Emmerich, Inc., New York, NY, sold to James C. and Florence C. Gruener)
    1957-1990
    James C. [1903-1990] and Florence C. [1908-1982] Gruener, Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1990-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Young-Sánchez, Margaret. "The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 79, no. 7 (1992): 234-75. p. 267, cat. no. 1 www.jstor.org
  • {{cite web|title=Female Figurine with Headdress|url=false|author=|year=1200–900 BCE|access-date=24 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1990.137