Ancient Mexico. Pre-Columbian Art Galleries
Dancers with incised skirts | Ancient Mexico. Pre-Columbian Art Galleries | Museo Amparo, Puebla
Dancers with incised skirts | Ancient Mexico. Pre-Columbian Art Galleries | Museo Amparo, Puebla
Dancers with incised skirts | Ancient Mexico. Pre-Columbian Art Galleries | Museo Amparo, Puebla
Dancers with incised skirts | Ancient Mexico. Pre-Columbian Art Galleries | Museo Amparo, Puebla
Dancers with incised skirts | Ancient Mexico. Pre-Columbian Art Galleries | Museo Amparo, Puebla

Dancers with incised skirts

Culture Tlatilco
Style Type D4
Region Tlatilco or Tlapacoya, Valley of Mexico
Period Middle Preclassic, Manantial phase
Year 1000 - 800 B.C.
Year 1000 - 800 B.C.
Technique

Modeled clay, with pastillage and incisions; yellow covering

Pieces per lot 2
Measures

11 x 3.8 x 2 cm | 11.5 x 4.2 x 3 cm

Location Gallery 3. Bodies, Faces, People
Record number 52 22 MA FA 57PJ 607
Researcher

This pair of dancers preserve their bright polychrome colors in red and black over a yellow coating. The first has her hair painted red and placed in a bun on the top of her head. Facial paint covers the eyes and the mouth and red smudges mark the shoulders, hands, stomach and legs, while a white necklace is formed by a knotted band in the front with red dots.

The other figurine is more eccentric in her paint and hairstyle. This one is asymmetrical with short, abundant hair to one side, and marked with incisions; while on the other side it appears to be shaved behind and straight and thin in front, tucked back behind the ear and extending in a long lock that covers the arm. The same asymmetry is repeated in the facial paint due to the placement of the two large triangles that extend across the eyes and cheeks and finish in a large hook.

The white that alternates with red on the body is largely worn off, but is most conserved on the necklace. A winding red band goes along each side from the hand to the breast. The same color marks the navel and the legs. The motifs incised into the skirts help to tell them apart from one another in a code whose meaning has not yet been deciphered, beyond noting the care with which the women have prettified themselves and cared for their individual identities.

This pair of dancers preserve their bright polychrome colors in red and black over a yellow coating. The first has her hair painted red and placed in a bun on the top of her head. Facial paint covers the eyes and the mouth and red smudges mark the shoulders, hands, stomach and legs, while a white necklace is formed by a knotted band in the front with red dots.

--Works in this gallery --

Ancient Mexico. Pre-Columbian Art Galleries