Female Figure
| Origin | Guanajuato/Michoacán (Mexico) |
|---|---|
| Title | Female Figure |
| Date | 1200–900 BCE |
| Medium | Clay and pigment |
| Dimensions | Object: 6 × 2 3/4 × 1 in. (15.2 × 7 × 2.5 cm) Overall (includes mount): 6 3/8 × 2 3/4 × 1 1/2 in. (16.2 × 7 × 3.8 cm) |
| Credit Line | Gift of Mr. Ernst Anspach, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 71.83.3 |
| This artwork is currently on view. | |
A female figure adorned with one large earring and a necklace painted red and white. Her expressive facial features are composed of a small conical nose, a slash for the mouth which is at the jawline, and bulbous eyes.
Often referred to as a “standing female figure” this figure was in fact placed on its back or leaned against something else as it is unable to stand on its own. Such figures are often characterized by various forms of jewelry and complex hairstyles some of which may have been used as indications of social status, such as the presence of earspools. While there is a range of possible interpretations, women were often understood as representations of fertility and renewal.
1971, Gift to the Indiana University Art Museum from Ernst Anspach, New York, NY
Unidentified date, Ernst Anspach acquires, New York, NY [1]
Unidentified dates, unidentified owner(s), possibly in Mexico and/or other places [2]
Notes
[1] Ernst Anspach did not provide the museum any further provenance information including how he acquired it.
[2] We do not yet know how many changes in ownership transpired between when this artwork was initially made and owned to when Ernst Anspach acquired it. This absence of documentation on ownership history within the cultures where the artworks were made and used is part of a larger history of collecting practices that did not record prior ownership among communities of origin.
Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.
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Cite this page
"Female Figure | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=71.83.3