Ancient Sculptural Artifacts

Artifacts including clay and ceramic figures from various ancient cultures, illustrating ritualistic, funerary, and everyday themes in sculptural form.

Santa Cruz Figure, Munge-Dukera Pre-Columbian Mixed Media Christie's Images, London, England

AncestorFigure

Seated Figure, 3 x 1 3/4 x 1 3/8 in. (7.62 x 4.45 x 3.49 cm), Metal (copper), Mali

Figure, 100-600, 6 x 4 x 3 1/4 in. (15.2 x 10.2 x 8.3 cm), Ceramic, Mexico, 2nd-7th century

Funerary Sculpture of a Soldier. China, Sui dynasty, 581-618. Sculpture. Molded earthenware with incised decoration and cream glaze

Prisoner Jar 2nd-7th century Moche This ceramic jar, from the Moche culture of the North Coast of Peru, represents a bound and kneeling prisoner. The white features of the prisoners fringed tunic, eyes and rope were produced by painting the normal reddish clay with a white slip (a slurry of fine clay or pigments) before firing. He wears a textile head wrap with a white striated border as well as a spread-winged owl or bat ornament in the front, likely representing a gilded copper headdress worn by high-status individuals (see accession number 1979.206.1227 in the Mets collection and Pillsbury et al., 2017: cat. nos. 42, 46 for related examples). The tunic is decorated with inscribed squares, which may represent the textile pattern or possibly metal plates sewn onto a cloth undergarment, and terminates in a fringe of triangular shapes. A thick rope is around the figures neck and his crossed hands are bound at his back. He is depicted without a loin cloth, with exposed genitals. In Mo

Figure. Culture: Veracruz. Dimensions: H. 8 1/2 x W. 2 5/8 x D. 2 1/8 in. (21.6 x 6.7 x 5.4 cm). Date: 7th-10th century.The modern state of Veracruz lies along the Mexican Gulf Coast, north of the Maya lowlands and east of the highlands of central Mexico. Culturally diverse and environmentally rich, the people of Veracruz took part in dynamic interchanges between the three regions that over the centuries included trade, warfare, and migration. During the middle centuries of the first millennium, the artistically gifted Veracruzanos created particularly inventive ceramic sculpture in diverse yet related styles. Each of these three standing figures is unique, but they share many details: the curled hair (or hats with curls) with traces of white coloring, the barlike chest ornaments, the projecting ear ornaments, and the elaborate belts or loincloths. The wide mouths are open to show off sparkling teeth that have been blackened with hematite crystals, which are rare on Veracruz ceramic f

Female Figure, 1900s. Guinea Coast, Nigeria, Hausa , 20th century. Wood and paint;

Male Figure with KnottedCostume. Artist: Unknown

Zapotec statuette of a bat-god. Artist: Unknown

Santa Cruz Figure, Munge-Dukera Pre-Columbian Mixed Media Christie's Images, London, England

Standing Figure 300 BCE-300 CE Guerrero. Stone . Mezcala

Double-flute player. Dimensions: H. 6 × W. 4.5 × D. 2.9 cm (2 3/8 × 1 3/4 × 1 1/8 in.). Dynasty: Dynasty 22-26. Date: ca. 945-525 B.C..This figure is part of a repertoire of figures created in a distinctive spotted faience from dynasty 22 into dynasty 26. The center of production was the eastern Delta, in particular Bubastis and Tanis; this was an area where Near Eastern peoples had long been interwoven in the population; at this time it was also a center for the settlement of Libyan tribal peoples. Possibly these conditions influenced this particular production. Through their appearance, the figures all allude to the goddess Bastet. In particular, many details evoke the myth termed "The Return of the Faraway Goddess." The feline / leonine Bastet was angry with the god Re and left Egypt for Nubia. Re wanted her back again, so he sent the god Thoth, who, taking the form of a monkey, lured her back with fables. Bes, musicians and dancers accompanied the train of the returning goddess,

Mayan ceramic figurine representing a dwarf. From Mexico. 600-900 AD

Seated human figure. Ceramics. Remojadas Phase. Middle Classic Period (400-700 AD). Mexico, Gulf Coast. Museum of the Americas. Madrid, Spain.

Mother with Child, 20th century, 24 1/2 in. (62.2 cm), Wood, Zambia, 20th century

Figurine of Ballplayer with Facial Scarification

Amulet of the God Bes. Egyptian. Date: 1070 BC-656 BC. Dimensions: 4.1 × 1.9 × 1.3 cm (1 5/8 × 3/4 × 1/2 in.). Faience. Origin: Egypt. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA. Author: Ancient Egyptian.

Standing MaleFigure, 100 B.C.-A.D.250, Ceramic with pigment, 60.96 × 28.58 × 13.97 cm (24 × 11 1/4 × 5 1/2in.), Made in Mexico, Mexico, Nayarit, Ixtlán del RíoStyle, Early ClassicPeriod, Sculpture

Dwarf. China. Date: 618 AD-906 AD. Dimensions: . Earthenware. Origin: China. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA.

Apsara Bracket, 900s. Vietnam (Champa). Sandstone; overall: 55.9 x 53.3 cm (22 x 21 in.).

Fetish figure of Basonge tribe, USA, Florida, Jacksonville, The Museum of Contemporary Art, African Art Collection

Figure of a Seated Chieftain 100 BCE-250 CE Colima state. Ceramic and pigment . Colima

Kneeling Female Figure

Bench Figure 1st century B.C.-A.D. 4th century Tolita-Tumaco From the third millennium B.C. onward, Ecuadoran people had a figurine tradition that would last until the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century. The figurines of the best-known regional styles of the first millennium A.D.Tolita/Tumaco, Jama Coaque, Bahiá, and Guangala-share similarities based on the earlier and more widely distributed Chorrera style. Various degrees of realism and sculptural modeling appear in the figurines, which have an average height of about seven to twelve inches. Some Tolita/Tumaco examples, however, can be as tall as three feet.A nude, heavily built male figure sits on a bench in frontal, perfectly symmetrical pose, with hands on knees and head held upright. His expressionless face gazes straight forward and simple gold rings are in the nose and ears. Red pigment remains on much of the figure's surface. The bench, made separately, is indicative of the figure's rank and authority. Such figures may

Seated Male Figure

Anthropoid sarcophagus mask; around 747-30 BC ; Half-ny-Ttelema period (-747-00-00--30-00-00);fragments of sarcophagus, masks, wig (iconogr.), faces, purchase (provenance)

Ancestor Figure (AnaDeo)

Seated Female. Mexico, Tlatico, Tlatilco, 1400-950 BCE. Ceramics. Slip-painted ceramic

Figure: Female 18th century Edo peoples This young female figure represents an attendant of the iyoba, or mother of the obam the ruler of the Kingdom of Benin. The queen mother cared for young women who served at her court until they reached marriageable age. At that time, her son, the oba, could marry them or give them to important chiefs to cement political alliances. Traditionally, these ladies-in-waiting wore scant clothing during their service under the iyoba, except for elaborate ornaments made from coral beads such as the crested headdress, necklace, belt, bracelets, and anklets displayed here.The figure's stocky proportions and the interlace pattern carved on the base are typical of ivory works made in Benin. Beginning in the eighteenth century, ivory was increasingly used for royal sculpture. Trade in ivory with Europeans had brought increased wealth and prestige to the kingdom and this prosperous trade relationship was evoked through courtly objects made from this precious lo

Figurine of the God Bes. Egypt, Third Intermediate Period (1081 - 711 B.C.). Sculpture. Bronze with gold inlays

Standing Figure. Culture: Jama-Coaque. Dimensions: H. 13 x W. 6 in. (33 x 15.2 cm). Date: 1st-5th century.The best-known aspects of the Jama Coaque culture are its ceramic vessels and figurines probably made for ritual purposes. Named for the modern towns of Jama and Coaque in the coastal lowlands of Ecuador's Manabí Province, they define its archaeological limits. Jama Coaque figures share similarities with other coastal sites of the period, but are often more richly clothed and elaborately adorned. Depicting warriors, musicians, hunters, and dancers, the figures were mold-made and have appliqué decorations that were made in smaller molds. Some figures are attached to vessels, but most are freestanding like this example. The backs of the figures were made by hand and not well finished, indicating that the figures were meant to be seen only from the front.This bare-chested female figure wears a long skirt, a multistrand necklace with a sizable pendant, and a decorated head cover. The

Figure with Incense Burner 2nd century B.C.-A.D. 3rd century Colima. Figure with Incense Burner 318962

Groom (Tomb Figure), late 500s-early 600s. China, Sui dynasty (581-618) - Tang dynasty (618-907). Buff earthenware with polychromy; overall: 21 x 8.3 cm (8 1/4 x 3 1/4 in.).

Female figure (otua fefine) Ha'apai Islands Early 19th century Whale ivory figurines, from the Haapai Islands of Tonga have a sculptural power that belies their modest scale. Almost exclusively female, the images are referred to as known as otua fefine, a term used to describe prominent female ancestors who were venerated as divine beings. This striking example was carved from the creamy core of the polished tooth of a sperm whale. The figures honey-colored patina was achieved by smoking the figure over smoldering sugary tubers from the ti plant (Cordyline fruticose) and then rubbing with oil. Not only did this accentuate the ivorys natural grain (giving it a rich reddish color which was an important element of its aesthetic), the resulting shimmer of the surface conveyed something of the essence of divine, sacred light. The creator of this remarkable carving worked the material to spectacular effect, choosing to align the grain of the whale ivory at the center of the figure so that fi

BOTELLA EN TERRACOTA 800 A 500 DC-PROC LOS ESTEROS(MANABI)INUNUMI. Location: PRIVATE COLLECTION. QUITO. ECUADOR.

Figure of a Standing Warrior. Late Classic Maya, Jaina; Campeche or Yucatán, Mexico. Date: 650 AD-800 AD. Dimensions: H. 31.1 cm (12 1/4 in.). Ceramic with pigment. Origin: Yucatan, Península de. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA.

Seated Male Figure. Mexico, Colima, Colima, 200 BCE-500 CE. Ceramics. Burnished ceramic with slip and incised decoration

FemaleFigure, ca. 12th-18thcentury, Terracotta, 10 1/2 × 3 1/4 × 2 1/2in. (26.7 × 8.3 × 6.4cm), Made in Guinea Coast, Ghana, Koma, 12th-18thcentury, Sculpture

North America, Mexico, Exhibit in the pre-Hispanic display of the Museum of Anthropology.

Incan head with llawt'u and maskapaycha (symbol of power). Known as "Head of Viracocha". Inca culture (1400-1533 AD). Diorite. Peru. Museum of the Americas. Madrid, Spain.

Seated Figure (Prophet or Apostle) ca. 1200 Attributed to the Master of Santa Maria la Bianca Italian. Seated Figure (Prophet or Apostle). Attributed to the Master of Santa Maria la Bianca (Italian, active late 12th-early 13th century). Italian. ca. 1200. Marble (Carrara marble) with lead and serpentine inlay. Made in probably Lucca, Tuscany, Central Italy. Sculpture

Przeszo Przyszoci unknown

Seated Figure ca. 500 B.C.-A.D. 300 Indonesia (Java). Seated Figure. Indonesia (Java). ca. 500 B.C.-A.D. 300. Bronze. Bronze and Iron Age period. Sculpture

Lower Mesopotamia, Iraq, Male torso from Tell Agrab, limestone

Tombell guard (during MC 05599) ". Terracotta, traces of polychromy. China, Tang dynasty (618-907). Paris, Cernuschi museum. Chinese art, Chinese Ceramic, Standing, Tang dynasty, tomb keeper, character, statuette, terracotta

Male Figure with ArmsUpraised

Female Figure with Bold, Geometric Face and Body Paint. Chupícuaro; Guanajuato or Michoacán, Mexico. Date: 200 BC-100 BC. Dimensions: 44.8 × 20 × 8.7 cm (17 5/8 × 7 7/8 × 3 7/16 in.). Terracotta and pigmented slip. Origin: Mexico. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, USA. Author: TEOTIHUACAN.

Head, 4 5/8 x 4 1/8 x 2 1/2 in. (11.7 x 10.5 x 6.4 cm), Earthenware, Mexico

Plaque: Iyase with Sword and Attendant. Culture: Edo peoples. Dimensions: H. 15 3/4 x W. 7 1/4 x D. 2 1/2 in. (40 x 18.4 x 6.4 cm). Date: 1550-1680. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Fragment of a MaleFigure

Female Guardian Reliquary Figure (Byeri) holding a Staff () with a Human Head, 19th century, Wood from the Rubiaceae tree family and oil, 19 1/2 × 6 1/2 × 4 1/2 in. (49.53 × 16.51 × 11.43 cm), Made in Gabon, Fang Mvai, 19th century, Sculpture

Sketch for a monument.

Terracotta mug in the form of a satyr's head. Culture: Greek, Attic. Dimensions: H. 9 1/16 in. (23 cm). Date: ca. 460 B.C..On the lip, Nike (personification of Victory), king and two women. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Standing Female Figure. Mexico, Guanajuato, Acámbaro Valley, Chupícuaro, Chupícuaro, 200 BCE-100 CE. Sculpture. Slip-painted ceramic

Bahia Culture (Mahia, Ecuador). 300 BC-500 AD. Male figure sitting cross-legged and hands objects. 56 x 27 cm. From Ecuador. Period of Regional Development. Private collection.

PostFigure

Feline deity (3rd c. AD). Moche or Mochica Art. PERU. LAMBAYEQUE. Sipn. Royal Tombs of Sipn Museum.

SeatedFigure. Artist: Unknown

Female Figure 3rd century B.C.-A.D. 4th century Chupicuaro. Female Figure 313169

Crouching Male Figure with Jar. Mexico, Jalisco, 200 BCE-500 CE. Ceramics. Slip-painted ceramic

Xochipilli, Pre-Columbian god, museum piece, Museo Nacional de Antropologia, National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City, Mexico, North America, Central America

Male Figure 12th-14th century Chancay After the influence of Wari waned, several ceramic styles evolved on the Pacific coast that emphasized mass production and the fabricating use of molds and stamps. In the valleys north of Lima, the Chancay people produced ceramics that are very distinctive in form and decoration. Painted predominantly in dark brown-black on white, the ceramics appear sloppy by comparison with many earlier and contemporary styles. However, the spontaneity of the decoration, the restrained color scheme, and the often bold painting lend the Chancay wares considerable charm. In addition to vessels, Chancay potters produced ceramic sculptures of humans and animals. Human figures, often made in explicitly male-female pairs, originally must have worn clothing. These two could have been made in the same basic mold with specific anatomical and decorative details added by hand. Both figures wear the same round ear ornamentsthose of the female are biggerbut different headdr

Yaksha, possibly Kubera late 6th-early 7th century Southern Cambodia or Vietnam Spiritssome protective, many malevolenthave always populated the landscape of Southeast Asia. Among the earliest surviving figurative sculptures from the region are enigmatic images best understood as personifications of the land and its elementsrocks, rivers, and trees. These nature-cult figures (yakshas and yakshis) existed alongside the emerging Hindu culture in mainland Southeast Asia and reflect a marriage of the two traditions. In an Indic setting, this deity probably represented Kubera, king of the yakshas and guardian of nature’s wealth.cat. no. 14. Yaksha, possibly Kubera. Southern Cambodia or Vietnam. late 6th-early 7th century. Sandstone. pre-Angkor period. Sculpture

Harpy Eagle Costa Rica, Las Mercedes Area, Middle B Period C. 900 A.D. Pre-Columbian Ceramic Collection of The Museum of Contemporary Art, Jacksonville, Florida

Glazed ceramic statuette depicting Goddess of Snakes, from Palace of Knossos

Shield Bearer with the Ducal Arms of Saxony ca. 1520 Hans Daucher German The elegant lines of this youthful figure complement the vividly painted heraldic shield he supports. This boy wears contemporary armor fancifully embellished with turbot-shell shoulder pieces (pauldrons) and with leather straps covering the upper arms, a detail borrowed from ancient armor. He stands on a tiny hillock; his fingertips balance the top of the shield, whose base rests on the ground. Fine-grained Jurassic limestone, quarried near Solnhofen, north of Augsburg, has been cut and polished to render the lads sleek limbs and finely wrought armor, but selected elements—eyes and lips, collar, skirt, and base—have been accented with color; the shield is entirely painted. Museum curator Wolfram Koeppe has convincingly traced the origins of this sculpture, while confirming the attribution to Hans Daucher, made when it appeared on the market in 1972 and again in 1997- 98.[1 Hans Daucher is documented as having d

Akhenaton Statue 1350 BC - Amarna Period Egyptian Art Sculpture Staatliche Museen, Berlin, Germany

Statuette of Mars, god of war. Roman. Bronze. From Rome. 2nd-3rd century. Episcopal Museum of Vic. Catalonia. Spain.

Maska sarkofagowa. unknown, author

This Ndop - statue of kuba king - is one of oldest african wood sculptures conserved

Pre-Colombian ceramic art in Larco Museum, Lima, Peru.

Limestone statuette of Pan 3rd-1st century B.C. Cypriot The nebris, knotted on the chest, covers the shoulders and falls to the back. There are goat ears and small, badly rendered horns on the top of the head.. Limestone statuette of Pan 242288

Head of a Bearded Satyr. Egypt, Alexandria, 1st - 2nd century CE. Sculpture. Terracotta

Figure, 20th century, 21 1/8 in. (53.7 cm), Wood, vegetable fiber, canine teeth, pigments, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 20th century

Ancient Egyptian terracotta figurine of god Bes, Late Period, XXX Dynasty

Standing Ceramic Figure. Culture: Moche. Dimensions: H x W: 6 1/8 x 3 13/16in. (15.6 x 9.7cm). Date: 3rd-5th century. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Anthropomorphic figure. Ceramic. Nayarit (200 BC-500 AD). Western Mexico. Museum of the Americas. Madrid, Spain.

Statue portraying Xochipilli, God of flowers and love

Seated Male 15th-early 16th century Aztec. Seated Male 307604

Pataikos 688-252 B.C. Late Period. Pataikos 550959

Marionette: Female. Culture: Ibibio peoples. Dimensions: H. 28 1/2 x W. 14 1/4 x D. 6 1/2 in. (72.5 x 36.2 x 16.5 cm). Date: 19th century. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Female Figure 500 BCE-200 BCE México. Ceramic and pigment . Chupícuaro

Terracotta statuette of a seated African (known as Ethiopian) boy 4th-3rd century B.C. Greek, Rhodian The figurine is mold-made and hollow. The back is mold-made. A very similar figurine from Kameiros, in the British Museum, is dated to the mid-fifth century B.C. on the basis of the pose.. Terracotta statuette of a seated African (known as Ethiopian) boy. Greek, Rhodian. 4th-3rd century B.C.. Terracotta; mold-made. Late Classical-Early Hellenistic. Terracottas

Figure: Female (Neganou) 19th century Bidjogo peoples. Figure: Female (Neganou). Bidjogo peoples. 19th century. Wood, sacrificial materials, eggshells. Guinea Bissau. Wood-Sculpture

Head from Colossal Statue of Guardian 17th-18th century Japan. Head from Colossal Statue of Guardian 62372

Seated Male Figure mid to late 19th century Kongo peoples, Kakongo group In Kongo culture, figurative sculptures delineate and concretize the threshold between the worlds of the living and the dead. Displayed in shrines, a series of wood sculptures depicting a male figure flanked by a courtly entourage of wives, attendants, and retainers served to honor and commemorate the memory of important individuals. Such representations are part of a complex of art forms which afforded access to influential ancestors and which were also appreciated for their aesthetic excellence.This idealized image of a leader once constituted the central protagonist of such a grouping. His meditative stance reflects simultaneously upon his destiny in the other world and his ongoing responsibilities to the living. The figure's chiefly identity is revealed through both the distinctive posture and the signs of rank that include a patterned hat, filed teeth, and decorative scarification patterns.The Kongo artist re

King's head ca. 1353-1336 B.C. New Kingdom, Amarna Period. King's head. ca. 1353-1336 B.C.. Gypsum plaster. New Kingdom, Amarna Period. From Egypt, Middle Egypt, Amarna (Akhetaten), Sculptors' workshops in the town, Petrie/Carter excavations, 1891-92. Dynasty 18

Mother and Child, 1st century BCE - 1st century CE, 5 1/8 x 3 15/16 x 4 9/16 in. (13.02 x 10 x 11.59 cm), Glazed ceramic, Thailand, 1st century BCE - 1st century CE

Hawaiian Stone Figure Kii 1894.

Fragment of the sarcophagus mask; approx. 1400 1295 BC ; New PAM, later at 18 dynasty (0-00-00-0-00-00);Deposit of the University of Warsaw from 1937-1939, scenes.gal.eg., fragments of sarcophagus, masks, faces, French excavations in Deir El-Medina (Egypt)

'Seated figure from Mexico'. Museum: Pensylvania University Museum, BUDAPEST, USA.

Decorated Tube. Iran, Luristan, Lursitan bronzes, circa 1000-650 B.C.. Sculpture. Bronze, cast

Terracotta statuette of a person of high rank from Colombia. Dated 15th Century

Standing Figure. Culture: Jalisco. Dimensions: H. 3 5/16 x D. 2 1/4 x W. 1 in. (8.4 x 5.7 x 2.5 cm). Date: 2nd century. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Mesoamerica. Female figure. Veracruz. Gulf of Mexico. 300-900 BC. Mexico. Museum of Cutures of the World. Barcelona. Spain.

Fragment of a MaleFigure

painted limestone head of Queen Hatshepsut (15071458 BC), the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt.

ESCULTURA DE ARCILLA. Author: ANTONIO BALLESTER BALLESTER.

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