Inside Look: Nayarit House Models

Join curator Laura Filloy Nadal on a tour through ancient Nayarit house models, offering a unique window into life in West Mexico between 100 BCE and 200 CE.

Join curator Laura Filloy Nadal on a tour through ancient Nayarit house models, offering a unique window into life in West Mexico between 100 BCE and 200 CE. Explore detailed scenes of village life, feasting, and community gatherings, that share details of the traditions that shaped the lives of those who lived in what is now the state of Nayarit. As part of this tour, we uncover a previously “hidden” room—an element that reveals an important aspect of these models: they were built from the inside out. It does not matter that the viewer, ancient or modern, cannot see every element; it matters that they are there. These models reconstruct the world of the living, to create one for the dead.

Featured artwork:
House Model, 100 BCE–200 CE
Nayarit, Mexico
Ceramic and pigment, H. 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Gift of Joanne P. Pearson, in memory of Andrall E. Pearson, 2015 (2015.306)


House Model, 300 BCE–300 CE
Nayarit, Mexico
Ceramic and pigment, H. 12 in. (30.3 cm)
The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979 (1979.206.359)


Villiage Scene, 300 BCE–300 CE
Nayarit, Mexico
Ceramic and pigment, H. 6 1/4 x Diam. 8 in. (15.9 x 20.3 cm)
From the Collection of Nina and Gordon Bunshaft, Bequest of Nina Bunshaft, 1994 (1995.63.4)

Production Credits
Digital Animation: Deepa Paulus
3D Imaging: Heather Johnson, Deepa Paulus, Wilson Santiago
Narrator: Laura Filloy Nadal, Curator, Arts of the Ancient Americas

Curatorial:
Patricia Sarro, Consultant, Michael C. Rockefeller Wing
Joanne Pillsbury, Andrall E. Pearson Curator, Arts of the Ancient Americas
Laura Filloy Nadal, Curator, Arts of the Ancient Americas
Hugo C. Ikehara-Tsukayama, Senior Research Associate, Michael C. Rockefeller Wing
Max Alegria, Adrienne Arsht Intern, Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

Chief Digital Officer: Douglas Hegley
Executive Producer: Sarah Wambold
Managing Producer: Mandy Kritzeck
Studio Manager: Erin Stella
Sound Recordist: Heidi Lorenz

Special thanks to Joanne P. Pearson; Alisa LaGamma, Ceil and Michael E. Pulitzer Curator in Charge, Michael C. Rockefeller Wing; Scott Geffert, General Manager, Imaging; Dawn Kriss, Conservator; Doris Zhao, Project Manager, Michael C. Rockefeller Wing; Gerardo Gutiérrez, Mary Pye, Xóchitl Medina

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