Female nude

This sculpture is an example of the combination of stylistic features intrinsic to the zonal modalities created throughout the vast territory of the shaft tombs. The general configuration corresponds to that of Ameca-Etzatlan while the handling of the surface and certain details correspond to that of San Sebastián. Both stylistic schools are neighbors in current geopolitical , the first was developed in the center of Jalisco and the second in the basin of Magdalena Lake, located in the northwestern section of Jalisco's center, and as well in the adjacent southeastern Nayarit. Due to their proximity this combination is of no surprise, even though it is important to point out that the artist has subtly integrated the San Sebastian style with that of Ameca; this aspect differentiates the piece from others which more often tend to show isolated exogenous elements.

There are sculptures that brought together, to a great extent, some of the features of the two stylistic modes and precipitated a different one, as in the Arenal style, which underpinned those of Ameca-Etzatlan and Ixtlan del Rio. It could be considered that the aforementioned proximity provided for an abundance of “syncretic” works, but this is not the case, as it is not common to see the combination that we see here; it should be interpreted as a special creation, the product of a specific decision, in the same way that traces of distant styles can be explained –within the same territory of this culture— in the same sculpture, as in one from the Comala style, from Colima, in which it attempts to imitate that of the Ameca-Etzatlan style.

From the above, it is inferred that the copies and formal borrowings are an interesting matter for study, and it is feasible to obtain its understanding in varied historical contexts. It is necessary to take note of the distinct visual angles offered, as this piece presents a fully three dimensional work; tabular cranial deformation, the elongated face, the long nose, the angular protuberance of the jaw, the prominent breasts with nipples, the narrowed waist and the flat abdomen conform to the Ameca-Etzatlan style. San Sebastian in turn has the flattening in the temporal bones, the jagged hair, the large hooped earrings --even when their form is not completely defined-- the eyes and mouth as horizontal perforations, the absence of lips, the emphasis on the cheekbones and the nostrils, the necklace of bands and, especially, the bulkiness of the lower half of the body, with protruding buttocks, thick legs and enormous feet with high arches.

In of the color, red bodies can be seen in the work of Ameca, but usually the head and the face are covered with a cream colored engobe; in this case, all of the surface having been painted red is characteristic of San Sebastian. Meanwhile, the positive painted spirals on the breasts are distinctive of Ameca; it is notable that on the shoulders there are painted false negative circular forms that replicate the predominant applications of clay in this area, and perhaps defer to the manner of representing in the San Sebastian style. The creator of this work was educated in the conventions of the Ameca-Etzatlan style and experienced some difficulties in copying the San Sebastian features; this is noticeable in the lack of definition in the ears and the earrings, the asymmetrical and wide shape of the nose, the triangular delineation of the pubic area, but without the marking of the vulva. Included within the canons of the two styles, the coarse face of the woman and her bodily strength are conspicuous; there is a probability that these originated in the complications experienced by the artist.