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Female Figure
Frog Whistle
Seated Female Figure
Ehecatl Figure
Canine Vessel
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This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 358
This freestanding ceramic figure represents a mastery of Veracruz decorative style and a spirited, improvisational use of form. An attitude of power is conveyed by a wide stance, outward extended elbows, and hands placed upon hips. Opposing the solidity of this posture is the floating, asymmetrical form of a fantastic horned and feathered serpent projecting from the head of the masked human figure or bird-headed anthropomorph. This figure wears an elaborate collar and a loincloth with a panel decorated with an abstract design that can be read as a splayed anthropomorphic figure. The broad collar that caps the figure's shoulders possesses a central element and is incised along its edge to depict a fringed border. Panels of scrollwork and interlaces and bands of repeated motifs characteristic of the art of Veracruz appear in relief on surfaces throughout the composition. The figure is actually a whistle and its musical function and the creative, whimsical compositions that inform the object give it an air of ceremony and celebration.
[Robert L. Stolper Galleries, New York, until 1961]; Nelson A. Rockefeller, New York, on loan to The Museum of Primitive Art, New York, 1961–1963; The Museum of Primitive Art, New York, 1963–1978
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