Colima Standing Pregnant Female Figure

Colima Standing Pregnant Female Figure
Pre-Columbian, Western Mexico, Colima culture, ca. 300 BCE – 300 CE
Height: 7 in. (17.8 cm)

An elegant and expressive ceramic figure from the shaft-tomb tradition of ancient West Mexico, depicting a pregnant woman standing with a gently rounded belly clearly indicating advanced pregnancy. She wears a knee-length wrap skirt tied diagonally across the waist and a prominent necklace, while her elongated face, high-bridged nose, and minimalist features reflect the stylized sculptural language of Colima artisans. A headband or headdress crowns her head, and her slightly forward-leaning posture imparts a sense of quiet dignity and maternal presence.

Pregnant female figures such as this are among the most evocative works produced in West Mexico and were deeply symbolic within the funerary context. Placed in shaft-tombs as representations of fertility, continuity of life, and ancestral lineage, they embodied powerful metaphors of rebirth and the cyclical nature of existence. The sensitive modeling of the body, combined with the symbolic emphasis on fertility and femininity, underscores the piece’s ritual and spiritual significance. Presented on a custom metal stand.

Provenance: Ex L. Fincher Collection, Florida; Ex Robert & Marianne Huber Fine Arts; Ex Robert Awe Collection, Texas.