Colima Seated Dog, Protoclassic, circa 100 BC - AD 250

John Huston, St Clerans, Craughwell, County Galway, and California, acquired during the 1940s - 1970s
Andy Williams, California, acquired from the above on June 25, 1985
Andy and Deborah Williams, California

A classic sculputure of the guardian canine, the animated and alert Colima animal crouches with an open mouth bearing his teeth. and nostrils flared as if growling.   The typical reddish-brown burnished surface visible here conveys the hairless Mexican dog called the Xoloitzcuintle (Xolo for short). The name Xoloitzcuintle comes from the Aztec language and combines the canine-deity “Xolotl” with the word for dog, “itzcuintle.” Xololt and was meant to accompany the dead in their journey through the dangers of the underworld up into the night sky to dwell with one’s ancestors.