P-3808 A SUPERB JALISCO GROUP OF MUSICIANS, "SHEEP-FACE" TYPE
Protoclassic,
circa 100 B.C. to A.D. 250.
Tala Tonala Culture, Atotonilco, Jalisco, West
Meico.
Ceramic sculptures.
Heights: 1) 9 in. (22.9 cm.); 2) 11 in. (28
cm.); 3) 9.5 in. (24.1 cm.)
Provenance: The Sternberg Family Collection of Pre-Columbian Art, acquired by Mr. & Mrs. Lionel Steinberg of Palm Springs, California in 1968.
sold
Each
figure in this group of three, playing a variety of musical instruments, is in
impeccable condition, decorated with white pigment,
still intact, against
the red slip, which is exceedingly rare among most "Sheep-face" figures.
The female drummer
is seated with one hand on her ornate drum and one held up to her face. She sports
large ear ornaments attached to her typically
pointed cat-like ears, a snake-like
headband around her typically elongated head, a multi-stranded necklace, and an
intricately detailed skirt.
The
taller seated female, with similarly complex adornments, is holding an undulating
snake-like wand or scepter
painted with white geometric chevron formations,
and wears an elaborately decorated mantle.
The
third seated figure, a male with crossed legs, also displaying similar embellishments
and features, holds
an antler striker in his right hand, and an ornately painted
turtle carapace as a drum on his left arm.