It is important to point out that we are not looking at the representation of an overweight man, but rather at the expression of a style. The imaginative recreation of the human body makes this a surprising specimen in the art of ancient Mexico; it is certainly unexpected, it does not correspond to the most well known artistic languages of the time, rather it could be linked with contemporary pieces. It is no exaggeration to indicate that this is a masterpiece, the unique synthetic concept of the artist is brought together with their domination of the modeling and firing of the ceramic forms.
The sculpture of the people of the shaft tombs is eminently anatomical and vital. Among the characteristics of the "grand style" that distinguish it in the extensive set of zonal stylistic modes, the nude or scantly clad human body stands out, although in this work it has been magnified. “Elephantine”, the colloquial name of the stylistic mode exhibited, refers to the bulkiness of the body, especially of the legs, which are great flat-bottomed cylinders in which stand out the thighs, and the feet are suggested by the rounded protuberances of the toes.
The anatomical qualities appear equally in the details, so that in this case the man shows nipples, navel and genitals; furthermore, the texture and consistency shown contribute to the configuration of the human corporeality. In addition to the roundness, the expression of vitality lies in the asymmetry of the composition: with subtlety, his face turns to one side and also the torso is rotated, since the navel and genitals are not in the same axis.
There is a pot on the figure's head with an angular silhouette, that is, with sharp angles in the body of the vessel. In the shaft tomb culture, vessels are of primary importance: between the rich set of objects and materials offered to the dead perhaps the most important in of numbers are the vessels; in the iconographic repertoire of ceramic sculpture the vessels occupy a central place in a context of architectural spaces; very often female and male figures hold or touch recipients, albeit in different ways and often these consist of different types of vessels.
It is atypical for a male figure to carry a vessel on his head; the nearest parallel that has been found is with some small sized sculptures of the Ixtlan del Rio (Nayarit) style, of women seated with small pots on their heads. However, I think that our piece shows a composition detached from the above; the elephantine style is located in Jalisco, I infer that from the central valleys to the south of the state, and in this context it is akin to the styles of the boundary of Jalisco and Colima, such as those of Coahuayana and Pihuamo, as well as Comala, Colima, in which there are figures whose heads are topped with circular openings with folded edges of the vessels.
It is likely that as well as constituting a stylistic feature, the vessel, whose silhouette appears complete, indicates the character of the container of the same sculptural form, that is, a hollow volume. Accentuating the above, the base of the pot is merged with the head; no separation is suggested, and the position of the arms implies handles, although quite fragile. What with the absence of chemical analyses applied to the sculptured "vessels" found in their original contexts, the practical use of this sculpture is a mystery; it is only possible to suggest its symbolic function as a recipient.
Very few specimens of the elephantine style are known; perhaps they all come from the same workshop as this piece, another of the Amparo Museum collection, which embodies a mecapalera (practically the same height, although the latter is more bulky), and one more exhibited in the Regional Museum of Guadalajara very similar to that seen here, although incomplete, with a fine nose, no ears, no earrings, and fired in a more oxidizing atmosphere. Apart from the similarities and the indication that they are by the same artist, it is quite notable that each piece is unique.
