The extraordinary resemblance of the two sculptures suggests that they are the work of the same artist and also that they were found together; since they are shaped pieces, rather than made in a mold, this stresses the intention to create two similar images. Their slightly bulging breasts, narrow waist and wide hips indicate their feminine condition; their flat abdomen indicates youth. They appear to be seated, as if they were on a bench; although there is no indication that they were attached to a , it is very possible that a separate one existed, so that the pieces made up a sculptural ensemble. Considering its small size, the meticulousness of the detail stands out, even in the back we can see, among other things, the continuation of the clothing and the same modeling, with developed body shapes.
The two women are dressed in maxtlatl. When "maxtlatl" is mentioned, what comes to mind is the Mexican garment of ancient origin that was used to cover the male genitals; these sculptures seem to evidence that the women of the culture that built the shaft tombs also wore them. Unlike the rest of Mesoamerican cultures, except the one of the Opeño, which is a direct predecessor of the shaft tomb culture, in this culture, it is not an exclusively male garment. In broad , it consists of a canvas cloth that es between the legs and is attached to the waist; there are numerous varieties; its name in the Nahuatl language - "maxtlatl" - is the most widespread.
We can see incisions in the front triangular section marking the folds of the cloth; on the side we can see hanging to the right six elongated shapes with spherical ends similar to tassels, although their identification is uncertain. The women appear with a shaved head, except for two narrow locks of hair on the central longitudinal axis of the head; the hair of one of the tufts reaches the middle of the back. The main difference between the two pieces is the necklace with rings that adorns one of them; other than this, both have several hoops or bands as bracelets.
The Tuxcacuesco-Ortices style in which they are inscribed is one of the most distinguished in the sculptural art of the people of the shaft tombs; its wide territorial presence is linked with an extensive period of production, apparently, throughout the entire temporality of culture. It is also distinguished because it has numerous variants. In the classification proposed by Carolyn Baus these pieces are of type IIIc, which she calls "accentuated at the hips". The common features of all the pieces of this style are: the fine-grained paste, the modeling of solid volumes of small format, smoothed but not polished and the abundant use of pastillage. One can also see incised details and perhaps one or two colors of paint (white/cream and black), in most cases only the surface is seen, as in the sculptures we see here. Iconographically the figuration of human beings predominates.
The pastillage consists of the application of small portions of clay paste to create diverse details, in this case, in the form of ornaments, hairstyle, clothes, and facial and body features. The resulting shapes can be quite varied, so we find different types of eyes and mouths; in these women the eyes resemble buttons with two holes.
In the same art of this culture, the Tuxcacuesco-Ortices style keeps certain correspondences with the variant of the Nayarit Ixtlan del Rio style that consists of small solid sculptures, in particular for their great expressiveness and narrative sense, although, in southern Jalisco and Colima the craft is finer or more meticulous, the clothing and the ornaments are distinguished elements, the figures are higher and flattened and they have a more contained dynamism. In this line of thought, women appear to sit peacefully; it is possible that the hands on the abdomen are a significant gesture.
The extraordinary resemblance of the two sculptures suggests that they are the work of the same artist and also that they were found together; since they are shaped pieces, rather than made in a mold, this stresses the intention to create two similar images. Their slightly bulging breasts, narrow waist and wide hips indicate their feminine condition; their flat abdomen indicates youth. They appear to be seated, as if they were on a bench; although there is no indication that they were attached to a , it is very possible that a separate one existed, so that the pieces made up a sculptural ensemble. Considering its small size, the meticulousness of the detail stands out, even in the back we can see, among other things, the continuation of the clothing and the same modeling, with developed body shapes.
