Chupícuaro Female Figure, Late Preclassic, 300 - 100 BC

John Jordan, Los Angeles
Edwin and Cherie Silver, Los Angeles, acquired from the above circa 1968-1970

Inventoried by Hasso von Winning, March 28, 1970, no. 48

As noted in the study of the extensive Natalie Wood collection at UCLA, (originally the Mildred and Edgar Dorsey Taylor collection acquired in the 1940's), McBride writes, "The ceramic complex associated with the classic Chupícuaro figurines is spectacular to say the least...That this powerful ceramic tradition greatly influenced the contemporary ceramics of a vast adjacent region seems undeniable" (McBride, Natalie Wood Collection, 1969, p. 38). 

As noted in the previous lot, the step-fret body design is a directional reference and a highly distinctive emblem for all Chupícuaro ceramics. The quincunx pattern is strongly represented on the face and on this figure, the design is repeated in simpler form only on the front and back of the torso, leaving the thighs bare.