Middle Horizon Wood Figure

Rosa and Aaron Esman, New York, presumably acquired from André Emmerich

Thence by descent to the present owners

André Emmerich Gallery, ed., Ancient Peruvian Wood Sculpture: Pre-Columbian Sculpture in Wood, Shell and Bone from Peru A.D. 500 to 1530, New York, 1966, cat. no. 14

André Emmerich Gallery, New York, Ancient Peruvian Wood Sculpture: Pre-Columbian Sculpture in Wood, Shell and Bone from Peru, A.D. 500-1530. A Special Exhibition, on view through October 15, 1966

Carved in a slender even section, the figure combines finely incised and low relief features. The incised oval upturned eyes and straight mouth contrast to the prominent brow and well modeled nose with flared nostrils, the folded arms show delineated fingers in low relief. Tiny raised nipples indicate this is a female figure, and is wearing a collar or necklace. A cord remains looped through perforations at each shoulder. 

The 1966 Andre Emmerich Gallery exhibition catalogue including this figure was an important reference for wood sculpture from the Andes. It was cited as South Coast, Tiahuanaco influence.