Colima Hunchback Vessel - DB.026 (LSO),Origin: Western Mexico,Circa: 300 BC to 300 AD,Dimensions: 11.75" (29.8cm) high,Collection: Pre-Columbian Art,Style: Colima,Medium: Terra Cotta,Condition: Very Fine. This poignant and well-executed portrait representation of a hunchback was made at the end of the first millennium BC to the early days of the first millennium AD. The subgroup that manufactured the piece are called the Colima, who are part of a group of archaeological cultures – known almost purely from their artworks – referred to as the Western Mexico Shaft Tomb (WMST) tradition. There are many distinct groups within this agglomeration, and their relationships are almost totally obscure due to the lack of contextual information. However, it is the artworks that are the most informative, as we can see from the current piece. The vessel would seem to be somewhat impractical, for although it was doubtless able to hold liquids (probably maize beer) it is likely to have had another function, probably votive, funerary or ritual. Its most valuable aspect, however, is in what it represents. The body of the vessel is a seated male adult, his hands on his knees, and with what appears to be a disproportionately short body for the size of his head. His face is oddly formed; it seems intentionally deformed, with a notable depression in the midsection, making the base of his nose project notably, and his bared teeth seem all the more prominent. The forehead is very prognathic, the face comparatively dished. He is seemingly nude, except for armbands around each bicep. His limbs are somewhat nugatory, their detail minimised in order to attract attention to the powerful yet shrunken body. The reason for this apparent compression becomes apparent when it is viewed from the side or back; he has a massive thoracic/lumbar kyphosis that has reduced his trunk height by roughly a third.

Antiquities
Ancient Central America & Mexico