Large Maya Orangeware Female Figure

Pre-Columbian, Maya culture, Tiquisate region, Guatemala, ca. 600–900 CE
Height: 10 ½ in. (26.7 cm)

A superb and finely modeled orangeware female figure, depicting a seated woman adorned with a broad headdress and prominent earspools. The figure’s sculptural volume is enhanced by the rounded chest and arms drawn inward toward the torso in a gesture of composure. The expressive face features a pronounced nose, large almond-shaped eyes, and an open mouth with a perforation through the nose intended for the insertion of a nasal ornament, emphasizing her elevated status or ritual role, details typical of the southern Maya lowland and coastal ceramic traditions. The surface exhibits extensive manganese deposits and mineral encrustations, attesting to long burial and ancient age, while traces of original, black-painted highlights remain visible across the burnished orange slip. A perforation through the back of the headdress likely served for suspension or ritual use. 

Figures of this type were characteristic of the Tiquisate region of Guatemala, an area that flourished during the Late Classic period as an important trade corridor between the Pacific Coast and the highlands. Female effigies, often associated with fertility or ancestor veneration, were placed in domestic or funerary contexts, reflecting the Maya emphasis on lineage and continuity.

Provenance:
Ex. Private Austin, Texas collection, acquired through family descent; originally collected in the 1960s.