The sculpture exhibits a flamboyantly attired and ornamented individual, undoubtedly of high status, which is also shown by the seated position, according to the canons of the art of the shaft tomb culture. It is a representative piece of the style of the Ixtlan del Rio area of southern Nayarit, whose features include extensive use of pastillage, that is, the attachment of small segments of clay to form details like the headdress, earrings and nose ring; the polychrome (in this case the remains of black, white, ocher and orange paint are preserved on the red engobe) to represent facial and body features, such as pupils and nails, clothing and, also, body paint; and the cartoonish features, which are particularly noticeable in the prominent aquiline nose and in the marked septum.
The short height of the nose allowed the artist to clearly show a major element of the image, the nose ring, composed of six rings running through the septum plus another cross hoop. It can be inferred that this ornamentation implies a repeated self-sacrifice ritual in of nasal perforation and perhaps one of the reasons why it is emphasized in the image, since this type of nose ring is recurrent in several of the regional styles of the ceramics of the shaft tomb culture, but it is not common to see that many rings.
The pastillage was also used in the huge earrings, composed of numerous rings around a tubular piece that penetrates the earlobe; it is likely that the nose and ear ornaments represent pieces of shell. The second most prominent attribute of the personage is the hemispherical object with a handle that it lifts to the height of the face, which I take to be a fan and, which I have deduced, is exclusive to male figures. The designs in black color on the face and torso are extremely interesting as tattoos or ephemeral painting; if the former, they would also entail the body sacrifice of those who wield them. The pictorial loss causes a confusion with the black spots scattered over much of the surface of the sculpture; these are manganese deposits, that is, a mineral buildup that occurred circumstantially in the underground space from which it comes, a shaft and chamber tomb.
In the front part of the torso, a wide diagonal zigzag band was painted and another triangular one which seems to enclose one of the pectorals. Circles are visible under the eyes and on the cheeks there are wide and curvy bands that surround the mouth which extend to the chin and rise up to the lower lip. Around the mouth there are jagged lines; these and the general composition refer to facial designs that the Wixaritari or Huichol use on certain ritual occasions and which have been recorded since the late nineteenth century; the comparison is not arbitrary, since several indications would note that these current indigenous people are heirs to the ancient culture of the shaft tombs.
The clothing on the sculptures created by these people is peculiar in the context of Mesoamerica; one of the unique items is the calzon (undergarment) worn by our character, which stands out in relief and is a superimposed extension that appears to be a thick and rigid material, such as leather, and can be identified as a phallic protector. Another unique garment is the quadrangular cape covering one arm and part of the torso, held at its two upper ends by a band in relief, painted in ocher and black around the neck; this cape is painted in a grid pattern, another typical characteristic of the Ixtlan del Rio style, which alternates simple rectangular spirals and two triangles or a square bisected by a diagonal. The calzon was not decorated with painted motifs, indicating that it represents a garment made of a different material than the cape, which reflects a thin and flexible textile.
Another sculpture of the Ixtlan del Rio style in the collection of the Amparo Museum exhibits a side cape which, since it preserves the polychrome in better condition, allows a better appreciation of the types of decorative motifs. It represents a woman and holds remarkable similarities to the personage in question: in addition to the cape, the band-shaped headdress with another narrower wrapped band, the nose ring and earrings are identical to those described and the curved choker; the height of both pieces is also the same and it is almost certain that they were made by the same artist; they also come from the same shaft and chamber tomb. It is appropriate to think that they were made together and deposited in the grave at the same time, as an offering to a deceased couple; the sculptures permanently materialize their vitality, high status and conjugal union.
The sculpture exhibits a flamboyantly attired and ornamented individual, undoubtedly of high status, which is also shown by the seated position, according to the canons of the art of the shaft tomb culture. It is a representative piece of the style of the Ixtlan del Rio area of southern Nayarit, whose features include extensive use of pastillage, that is, the attachment of small segments of clay to form details like the headdress, earrings and nose ring; the polychrome (in this case the remains of black, white, ocher and orange paint are preserved on the red engobe) to represent facial and body features, such as pupils and nails, clothing and, also, body paint; and the cartoonish features, which are particularly noticeable in the prominent aquiline nose and in the marked septum.
