Jalisco Terracotta Sculpture of a Bedridden Child - PF.3885,Origin: Jalisco, Mexico,Circa: 300 BC to 300 AD,Dimensions: 3.5" (8.9cm) high x 4.5" (11.4cm) wide,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style: Jalisco,Medium: Terracotta. Found lying together, this terracotta mother and child scene is one which could pull at the heart strings of anyone who came across it. The figure of the mother is a picture of pain and anguish. Larger than the image of her child, she towers over him, leaning against the bed posts. She clutches at her throat, as if she is choking from her own misery, as she looks down at her child. Her face is contorted to reveal her emotions and her teeth are shown resembling a gashing of teeth. As she looks down on her child, she sees him lying down and bound over the chest, arms and legs, prohibiting him from moving at all. The head is also restricted due to two blocks on either side of the head. The child may have been inflicted with the disease of epilepsy, causing him to be restrained in this manner. With this sort of realism, art takes on the task of evoking emotion, a vital part of life and even our own ortality.

Antiquities
Ancient Central America & Mexico