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Source Description
This couple-extremely fine examples of their kind-may commemorate the marriage of an important person, such as a chief, but could also represent siblings of a chiefly family. Whatever their relationship, their unity is conveyed by their physical similarities, including their jewelry, which marks high social station. The female is unusual in nursing an infant, likely a reference to generational renewal and the continuation of noble bloodlines. The significance of the male’s activity-beating a turtle-shell drum- is not understood.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
160749
label
Male Seated Figure
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
160749
contentType
object
title
Male Seated Figure
description
This couple-extremely fine examples of their kind-may commemorate the marriage of an important person, such as a chief, but could also represent siblings of a chiefly family. Whatever their relationship, their unity is conveyed by their physical similarities, including their jewelry, which marks high social station. The female is unusual in nursing an infant, likely a reference to generational renewal and the continuation of noble bloodlines. The significance of the male’s activity-beating a turtle-shell drum- is not understood.
date
100 BCE–300 CE
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60759870
genreSpecific
Ceramic
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Average: 56 x 31.8 x 30.5 cm (22 1/16 x 12 1/2 x 12 in.)
cul
Mexico, Nayarit
accession
1998.83.2
Source extras
tec
ceramic
tombstone
Male Seated Figure, 100 BCE–300 CE. Mexico, Nayarit. Ceramic; average: 56 x 31.8 x 30.5 cm (22 1/16 x 12 1/2 x 12 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Clara Taplin Rankin, 1998.83.2
collection
AA - Mesoamerica
citations
citation
Townsend, Richard F., and Patricia Rieff Anawalt. <em>Ancient West Mexico: Art and Archaeology of the Unknown Past</em>. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1998.
page_number
fig. 13, p. 43; cat no. 191
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art, “Cleveland Acquires Major New Sculpture, Rare Chinese Prints, Contemporary Prints, Drawings & Photographs,” October 30, 1998, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
creditline
Gift of Clara Taplin Rankin
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:21:19.656000
sourceId
160749
dept
Art of the Americas
coll
AA - Mesoamerica
med
ceramic
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
de90de35510fa2ec