The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 10, 2026

An earthenware sculpture depicts a standing woman with large, rounded hips and thick legs. She is decorated with muted red pigment on her hands, feet, and lower legs, and a red stripe running vertically down her torso. She wears a belt of clay pellets and raised bands on her upper arms and knees. Her hair features fine incised lines, and large circular ornaments decorate her ears, framing a wide-eyed gaze.

Female Figurine

c. 1500–500 BCE

Mexico, Guerrero, Xalitla, Xochipala style

earthenware with pigment
Overall: 9.8 x 3.8 x 2.2 cm (3 7/8 x 1 1/2 x 7/8 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1993.203
Location: 233 Mesoamerican and Intermediate Region

Description

This delicately beautiful figurine portrays an adolescent girl wearing only boots, a belt, jewelry, and cinnabar paint. The sensitive modeling of the face and body is enhanced by the meticulous detailing of applied elements such as the coiffure and belt.
  • “1993 Annual Report.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 81, no. 6 (July 1994): 143–218. Mentioned: p. 163 www.jstor.org
  • {{cite web|title=Female Figurine|url=false|author=|year=c. 1500–500 BCE|access-date=10 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1993.203