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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
160747
label
Pair of Seated Figures
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
160747
contentType
object
title
Pair of Seated Figures
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
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60757384
genreSpecific
Ceramic
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Average: 52.3 x 30.5 x 29.5 cm (20 9/16 x 12 x 11 5/8 in.); Part 2: 56 x 31.8 x 30.5 cm (22 1/16 x 12 1/2 x 12 in.)
cul
Mexico, Nayarit
accession
1998.83
Source extras
tec
ceramic
tombstone
Pair of Seated Figures, 100 BCE–300 CE. Mexico, Nayarit. Ceramic; average: 52.3 x 30.5 x 29.5 cm (20 9/16 x 12 x 11 5/8 in.); part 2: 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
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 08:21:10.080000
sourceId
160747
dept
Art of the Americas
coll
AA - Mesoamerica
med
ceramic
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
4c2b98a8f5d960ab