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

ESCULTURA DE ARCILLA. Author: ANTONIO BALLESTER BALLESTER.

Seated Figure with an Elongated Head and Chin Placed on Knee 300 BCE-300 CE Jalisco state. Ceramic and pigment . Jalisco

Korwar. A helper from the spirit world. Bay (West Papua). Before 1865. Wood, glass. Exposition The Human Image. Organised by British Museum and "La Caixa" Foundation. Barcelona. Spain.

Figure-whistle from Mexico. These figures represent a human who is holding a feline in her arms - the animal symbolizing divine power. The pose focuses on the close connection between human beings and nature. 600-900 A.D.

Figure, 250 BCE - 300 CE, 13 1/2 x 7 in. (34.3 x 17.8 cm), Ceramic, pigment, Mexico, 3rd century BCE - 4th century CE

Head, from a Figure 1st-5th century Tolita-Tumaco. Head, from a Figure 313219

Greece, Crete, Gortina, Daedalus art statue of winged goddess

Terracotta figurine, folk, 7th century A. D collected at Muttom near Boluvampatti, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, South India, India, Asia

Canopic Jar Lid ca. 1479-1458 B.C. New Kingdom. Canopic Jar Lid. ca. 1479-1458 B.C.. Pottery, Nile B, red ochre wask. New Kingdom. From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Deir el-Bahri, Tomb of Senenmut (TT 353), Bottom of pit, MMA excavations, 1926-27. Dynasty 18

Mexico.Mexico D.F.Museo Nacional de Antropologia.Coatlicue (Diosa Madre de la falda de Serpientes).Cultura Azteca-Mexica.

Mask from an Incense Burner Portraying the Old Deity of Fire 450 CE-750 CE Valley of Mexico. Ceramic and pigment . Teotihuacan

Granite ram of Amun with King Taharqa, 25th Dynasty, 690-664 BC. From Kawa in Nubia. The worship of Amun, imported into Nubia by the Egyptians was carried on with great zeal by the royal family of that Dynasty. This statue symbolizes the god's protection of the king.

Portrait vessel, 6th century, 6 1/2 x 3 7/8 x 4 in. (16.51 x 9.84 x 10.16 cm), Clay, pigments, Peru, 6th century

ESTATUILLA ANTROPOMORFA EN TERRACOTA. Location: PRIVATE COLLECTION. QUITO. ECUADOR.

SeatedJaguar. Artist: Unknown

Figural Plaque, 2nd-3rd century, 11 5/16 x 4 5/16 in. (28.73 x 10.95 cm), Gilt bronze, China, 2nd-3rd century

Head of Surya, c. 500s. India, Mathura, Post-Gupta period. Spotted red sandstone; overall: 16 x 8.5 x 12 cm (6 5/16 x 3 3/8 x 4 3/4 in.).

Man with tree on head, sculpture

'Harpokrates'. Egypt, 3rd - 1st century BC. Dimensions: height 16,8 cm. Museum: State Hermitage, St. Petersburg.

Mexico.Mexico city.National Museum of Antropology. Nayarit culture.Las Cebollas (200BC-600AC).Female figure in ceramic.Representation of a woman giving birth..

Standing Male Figure

Stone statue of Vishnu, dating from between 7th and 9th centuries AD, National Museum, Bangkok, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Asia

Figure from a Reliquary Ensemble: Seated Female. Culture: Fang peoples, Okak group. Dimensions: H. 25 3/16 x W. 7 7/8 x D. 6 1/2 in. (64 x 20 x 16.5 cm). Date: 19th-early 19th century.The Fang peoples derive a sense of continuity with their past as well as a communal cohesiveness in the present through an ancestral cult known as bieri. Bieri reliquary figures, such as this 19th century example, embody the qualities that the Fang admire most in people--namely, tranquility, vitality, and the ability to hold opposites in balance. Such wooden figures and heads are placed on top of bark containers that hold the precious relics of important clan ancestors. The carved head or figure mounted on top of the reliquary box guards the sacred contents against the forbidden gaze of women and uninitiated boys. Before being removed from Africa, such works were invariably separated from the relic containers that they originally enhanced. This formidable female figure personifies controlled exuberance.

Architectural Sculpture Fragment, c. 700-1000. Mexico, Oaxaca, Zapotec. Unfired clay, covered with painted stucco; overall: 22.8 x 12.5 x 13 cm (9 x 4 15/16 x 5 1/8 in.).

Supporting Lion, style of the 1200s. Italy, style of the 13th century. Pink limestone (known as "Verona Marble"); overall: 142.9 x 43.9 x 65.5 cm (56 1/4 x 17 5/16 x 25 13/16 in.).

Seated Male Holding Head Vessel. Mexico, Colima, Colima, 200 BCE-400 CE. Ceramics. Slip-painted ceramic

Plaque: Junior Court Official with Sword. Culture: Edo peoples. Dimensions: H. 20 in. (50.8 cm). Date: 16th-17th century. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Shiva as the Lord of Dance. India, Tamil Nadu, circa 1100. Sculpture. Granulite

painted and glazed ceramic female figure. Mossi People, Burkina Fasso, West Africa 1960

Standing Figure 100 B.C.-A.D. 100 Tolita-Tumaco The three-dimensional figures of the Tolita-Tumaco area are among the most striking of Precolumbian gold objects. The present example is particularly distinguished by its fancy nose ornament, evidence that some form of headdress was once present, and by the position of the hands, which originally held objects now missing. The feet too have been lost. Made of many pieces of high-quality sheet gold, the figure may have been clothed for special occasions. The Tolita-Tumaco style area crosses the Colombia-Ecuador border along the humid Pacific coast.. Standing Figure. Tolita-Tumaco. 100 B.C.-A.D. 100. Gold. Colombia or Ecuador. Metal-Sculpture

Italy, Rome, Cerveteri, Furbara, Bronze statue depicting Tinia, Zeus

Censer representing the god of rain Tlaloc. Postclassical period (1300-1521). Mixtec Culture. Ceramic, stucco, tufa and paint. Teotitlan del Camino (State of Oaxaca, Mexico). Dallas Museum of Art, State of Texas. United States.

Figurka stojącej kobiety. unknown, author

Protection from the series "Warsaw satires"; Broniewska, Janina (1886-1947); 1930 (1930-00-00-1930-00-00);

Twin Figure (Ère Ìbejì), late 1800s-early 1900s. Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Yorùbá-style maker. Wood, copper alloy, iron alloy, lead, glass beads, cowrie shells, twine, and pigment; overall: 25.6 x 18.8 x 5.8 cm (10 1/16 x 7 3/8 x 2 5/16 in.). Such a figure is carved when a twin dies in infancy and serves as a memorial to the surviving sibling. These twin figures are always carved to look like adult individuals with idealized physical features. Various body adornments suggest the care parents devote to their children, while the erosion of facial features indicates the symbolic washing and feeding of the figure as a means to connect the soul of the deceased to that of the living twin.

ARTE CAMBOYA. ESTILO KULEN. ESTATUA DE VISHNU. Hacia el 800-850. Piedra arenisca. Museo de Arte de Denver. Estado de Colorado. Estados Unidos.

Gold mask. Pre-Columbian art. Jewelry. COLOMBIA. CUNDINAMARCA. Bogot. Gold Museum. Proc: COLOMBIA. CAUCA. Inza. Archaeological park of Tierradentro. Alto de San AndrŽs.

Sculpture showing a chief. San Agustin culture (100-1000 AD). Colombia. South America. Museum of the Americas. Madrid, Spain.

Chinese lion statue

senser made from baked clay, Mayan 600-900 AD by the Mayans along the Gulf of Mexico 600-900 AD

Bodhisattva. Culture: China. Dimensions: H. 54 3/4 in. (139.1 cm); W. 21 1/2 in. (54.6 cm);Base: 19 7/8 in. square (54.6 cm). Date: 11th-12th century. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Head of a Gana. Sri Lanka, late Anuradhapura period, 8th-9th century. Sculpture. Terracotta

Puppet (WayangKlitik)

Museu de Mallorca, Palma, Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain.

En no Gyōja, 1200s. Japan, Kamakura period (1185-1333). Wood; average: 74.9 cm (29 1/2 in.).

Busto del rey de Kabah(800-1000d.c.). Museo Nacional de antropologia. Estado de Mexico D.F. Mexico.

Top for standard ca. 8th century B.C. Iran In the early first millennium B.C., inhabitants of the mountainous region of western Iran known as Luristan manufactured an astonishing variety of bronze objects, including weapons, standards, jewelry, horse ornaments, and vessels, most of which have been recovered from cemeteries. The nature of the society and economy that produced these bronzes is not known with certainty but seems to have been predominantly nomadic.This standard top would have been joined to a pole or other support. It is not certain how such a standard would have been used, but it may be significant that this type of object has been found only in graves. The object depicts a scene of long-standing significance in ancient Near Eastern art, that of the "master of animals." The man holds in each hand the throat of a demonic creature, while human and bird heads appear below. Listen to experts illuminate this artwork's story Listen Play or pause #7011. Top for standard Supporte

Monkey, 1325-1519. Central Mexico, Tacuba, Aztec, Post-Classic Period. Stone; overall: 24.5 x 14.5 x 20.5 cm (9 5/8 x 5 11/16 x 8 1/16 in.).

Wood carved figures

Brass plaque from Benin, Nigeria, West Africa. the British Museum London. Edo peoples, 16th century AD From Benin, Nigeria. There are over nine hundred plaques of this type in various museums in England, Europe and America. Many of the plaques now in The British Museum were collected during the British Punitive Expedition in 1897. They are thought to have been made in matching pairs and fixed to pillars in the Oba's palace in Benin City.

Female Dancer (Tomb Figurine). China. Date: 200 BC-101 BC. Dimensions: 18.3 × 11.5 × 10.4 cm (7 3/16 × 4 1/2 × 4 1/16 in.). Gray earthenware with slip coating and polychrome pigments. Origin: China. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA.

Head of a Giant 14th-15th century Thailand. Head of a Giant. Thailand. 14th-15th century. Ceramic. Ceramics

Sculpture of the god of fire, Huehueteotl. National Museum of Anthropology. State of Mexico D.F. Mexico.

Seated Figure 13th-15th century Quimbaya The people inhabiting the hills and valleys of the middle Cauca River during the centuries before the Spanish conquest in the 1530s made distinctive ceramic figures of the type illustrated here. The stylized figures are known familiarly as slab figures. They can be solid or hollow, male or female, although most are male. They range in height from four to twenty inches. Square or rectangular slabs of clay make up the head and body and heavy coils of clay are attached for arms and legs. The neck is usually a deep groove with little further modeling, but this example shows a collarbone. Left hand to chest, the right arm is raised, the palm open as if throwing or holding something. Legs bent, the figure's feet are squarely placed on the ground. Wide, shallow grooves around the ankles, below the knees, and around the wrists and upper arms indicate that leg and arm bands were once present. The eyes and mouth are long horizontal slits while the large n

Two Artisans, AD 250-600. Guatemala, Petén region, Maya style (250-900), Maya style (250-900). Earthenware with colored slips; overall: 56.5 x 22 x 35.5 cm (22 1/4 x 8 11/16 x 14 in.); part 2: 59 x 26 x 22 cm (23 1/4 x 10 1/4 x 8 11/16 in.). These figures represent the supernatural patrons of the visual arts and writing: the brothers Hun Batz and Hun Chuen ("One Monkey" and "One Artisan"). The two were refined artists but also bullies who tormented their younger brothers, who took revenge by transforming their elders into monkeys. Many Maya representations of the painter-scribes immortalize this fate by depicting the pair with both simian and human features, as here. The brothers are shown engaged in artistic or scribal pursuits. Sitting on high-domed bases that may have served as the lids of incense or offering bowls, each apparently once grasped a tool in his upper handfor instance, a paint brush or a stylus for writing. In the lower hand, one cradles a small mask and the other, a

Pre columbian human figure seat with bowl. Guadalajara Pre columbian human figure seat with bowl. Guadalajara, Jalisco. Mexico Copyright: xZoonar.com/Pascopixx 22082438

Museum of Vietnamese History. Ganesha the elephant God. Sandstone. Vietnam, 8 th century. Ho Chi Minh city. Vietnam.

Bronze statue on plate from Benin, Anonymous, 1880 - 1940 photograph baryta paper. cardboard sculpture

Singha.Image of singha in standing attitude. There is a Yaksa between the hind legs. On the image there are traces of polychromy. It is probably a fragment.

Vishnu or Prahalada, Son of Hiranyakashipu. Culture: Southern India, Tamil Nadu, probably Thanjavur district. Dimensions: H. 17 3/4 in. (45.1 cm); W. 9 7/8 in. (25.1 cm); D. 6 1/4 in. (15.9 cm). Date: ca. 1700-1750.This mask depicting a handsome crowned male is likely intended to represent Vishnu himself, though he does not normally feature directly in the temple dramas, as Narasimha serves as his ferocious manifestation. Nonetheless, Vishnu's presence is understood; he presides over the performance while not directly participating in it. Alternatively, this mask may be intended to represent Prahalada, the devotee for whom Vishnu interceded as the man-lion savior. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Jean Carriès (1855-1894). Fragment of sandstone pilaster of the monumental door (front view). Museum of Fine Arts of the City of Paris, Petit Palais. 24846-11 Ceramic, decoration, fragment, face, gres, scay-Montbeliard hotel, pilaster, monumental door, face

Chinese Art. 7th century. Court Lady. Ceramics. Early Tang Dynasty.

Mask

MASCARA DE ESTILO PUNICO-IBICENCO DEL SIGLO IV AC - AJUAR FUNERARIO DE UN DIFUNTO EN PUIG DES MOLINS. Location: MUSEO ARQUEOLOGICO / MUSEO DE PUIG DES MOLINS. IBIZA. SPAIN.

Ceramic vessel, erotic art Moche culture 100 AC-800 AC Perú.

Horus-Dziecko, Horus warrior; 664-332 BC; Half-ny (0-00-00-0-00-00), 664-525 BC; Half period, 26 dynasty (0-00-00-0-00-00);Hoffmann, Henri (1865-1917), Hoffmann, Henri (1865-1917) - collection, horus (mitol.), Louvr (Paris) - collection, scenes.gal.g.g., Egyptian deities, double crown, ureusze

Central America, El Salvador, San Salvador, Museo Nacional de Antropologia David J Guzman, Anthropology museum

Male figure (ti'i) made of thespesia wood from the Society Islands in Tahiti, 19th Century. Artist: Unknown

Eric IX of Sweden (c.1120-1160). King of Sweden. Wooden sculpture. 15th century. From Alsike church. Medieval Museum. Stockholm. Sweden.

Head of Hatshepsut ca. 1479-1458 B.C. New Kingdom This granite head of a king was excavated by the museum in the ruins of a Ramesside temple built near the cultivation east of the royal temples at Deir el-Bahri. The king portrayed is probably Hatshepsut. The head is similar in size and style to the standing statue of Hatshepsut (28.3.18) in gallery 115.. Head of Hatshepsut 548307

Pre-Columbian Art. Maya. Mexico. Column depicting a man. Dated between VIII-IX centuries. Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York. United States.

Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City, Mexico, Central America, A large ancient Mexican stone head with clearly defined facial features in a museum, Central America

PAN Yuliang (1899-1977). "AutoSortrait, bustse". Bronze, 195.1. Paris, museum cansusi. 50143-7 Self -portrait, bronze, bust, face

Close-up of terracotta Soldier

Aztec figure of a Warrior (King), after 1325. Central Mexico. Tetzcoco, Aztec, Post-Classic Period. gold-silver-copper alloy (cast). The elite status of this warrior, holds a dart thrower, darts, and a shield.

Mask of a Satyr. Unknown

Mask, TypeK. Artist: Unknown

Mexico.Mexico city.National Museum of Anthropology.Figure in ceramic.

Italy, Rovigo Province, Porto Viro, Contarina, Bronze statue depicting Hercules

Mask. Culture: Japanese. Dimensions: L. 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm); W. 7 in. (17.8 cm). Maker: Inscribed by Myochin Muneakira (Japanese, Edo period, 1673-1745). Date: dated 1745.Muneakira's masterpiece, this mask by Muneakira was already famous when it was first published in 1763. It represents Jikokuten, guardian of the East, one of the Four Kings of Heaven. The mask is also one of the few to retain its original silk head covering sewn to the upper edges. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Head of a Buddha (Fotuo). China, late Tang dynasty, about 800-906. Sculpture. Modeled and carved clay on metal armature

John Sullivan, Doll, 1938 Doll

Altar Tableau: Queen Mother and Attendants 18th century Edo peoples This cast brass tableau, or urhoto, was originally displayed on an ancestral altar dedicated to the mother of a ruler of the Benin kingdom. The queen mother, or iyoba, occupies an important place within the political hierarchy of the Benin court. By protecting the health and well-being of her son, she helps to safeguard the security and prosperity of the entire kingdom. In light of her position, she is entitled to certain prerogatives enjoyed by high-ranking male titleholders, such as a luxurious palace, a coterie of attendants, and the right to commission sculpture in ivory and brass. After her death, a large altar dedicated to her memory is constructed within the palace and decorated with an assemblage of sculptures that celebrate her achievements and facilitate communication with her spirit in the afterlife.This urhoto is composed of nine figures upon a rectangular base with a square opening at the center. Motifs re

TAPADERA DE INCENSARIO - CERAMICA PINTADA - CULTURA TEOTIHUACANA - FASE XOLALPAN - PERIODO CLASICO MEDIO (400-700 DC) - MEXICO CENTRAL. Location: MUSEO DE AMERICA-COLECCION. MADRID. SPAIN.

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

Cornerstone or Corbel (), 300s-400s. Egypt, Coptic Period. Limestone; overall: 24.2 x 23 cm (9 1/2 x 9 1/16 in.).

Male attendant 7th century China. Male attendant 54075

Venus of Willendorf. 23rd mil. BC. Representation of fertility. Upper Paleolithic. Gravettian. Sculpture on rock. AUSTRIA. VIENNA. Vienna. Natural History Museum. Proc: AUSTRIA. LOWER AUSTRIA. Willendorf.

FIGURA MAYA.

Plaque

Bronze statue of a figure from Benin, Anonymous, 1880 - 1940 photograph baryta paper. cardboard sculpture

Kingdom of Urartu. Element from throne of a divinity. Bronze. From ancient Rusahinili (Toprakkale, Turkey). 8th-7th c. BC. The State Hermitage Museum. Saint Petersburg. Russia.

Maskette, 500 BCE-500 CE, 3 1/4 × 2 1/16 × 5/8 in. (8.26 × 5.24 × 1.59 cm), Wood, shell or ivory, 6th century BCE-6th century CE

Arhat (Luohan). Culture: China. Dimensions: H. 17 1/2 in. (44.5 cm); W. 12 in. (30.5 cm); D. 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm). Date: 20th century. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Standing Figure 8th-9th century Maya. Standing Figure 318678

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

Mingqi: 8 musician riders. Terracotta, with traces of polychromy. Paris, Cernuschi museum. 51631-18 Cavaliere, detail, woman, funeral figurine, mingqi, musician, object, statuette, hold music instrument, terracotta, polychromy trace

Figure Carried in a Litter. Late Classic Veracruz; El Faisan, Veracruz, Mexico. Date: 600 AD-950 AD. Dimensions: H. 29.9 cm (11 3/4 in.). Ceramic and pigment. Origin: Veracruz state. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA.

Lion head in terracotta (from the front), ancient Greece, 4th century BC .. Museum of Fine Arts of the city of Paris, Petit Palais. 37423-14 Antiquity, classic Greece, lion, terracotta, head, ancient

Old Man; Eastern Mediterranean; about 3rd century B.C; Terracotta with polychromy; 5 × 6 cm (1 15,16 × 2 3,8 in.)

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