Olmec peoples / 'Baby' Figure / 12th-9th century B.C.E.Olmec peoples
'Baby' Figure
12th-9th century B.C.E.

View Larger Image

View Full Catalog Record Below



This image is one of over 108,000 from the AMICA Library (formerly The Art Museum Image Consortium Library- The AMICO Library™), a growing online collection of high-quality, digital art images from over 20 museums around the world. www.davidrumsey.com/amica offers subscriptions to this collection, the finest art image database available on the internet. EVERY image has full curatorial text and can be studied in depth by zooming into the smallest details from within the Image Workspace.
 
Preview the AMICA Library™ Public Collection in Luna Browser Now

  • Cultures and time periods represented range from contemporary art, to ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian works.
  • Types of works include paintings, drawings, watercolors, sculptures, costumes, jewelry, furniture, prints, photographs, textiles, decorative art, books and manuscripts.

Gain access to this incredible resource through either a monthly or a yearly subscription and search the entire collection from your desktop, compare multiple images side by side and zoom into the minute details of the images. Visit www.davidrumsey.com/amica for more information on the collection, click on the link below the revolving thumbnail to the right, or email us at amica@luna-img.com .



Creator Nationality: North American; Central American; Mesoamerican; Olmec
Creator Name-CRT: Olmec peoples
Title: 'Baby' Figure
View: Rear view
Creation Start Date: -119
Creation End Date: -80
Creation Date: 12th-9th century B.C.E.
Object Type: Sculpture
Materials and Techniques: Ceramic, pigment
Dimensions: H. 13 3/8 in. (34 cm)
AMICA Contributor: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Owner Location: New York, New York, USA
ID Number: 1979.206.1134
Credit Line: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979
Rights: http://www.metmuseum.org/
Context:

Seated, life-size baby figures are among the most intriguing ceramic works from Precolumbian Mexico. Although their human features and postures are not symbolically complex and are easily understood, the significance of these figures in Precolumbian times is far from clear. They may have been early forms of Mexican deities or emblems of royal descent, or both. Made by an intellectually and artistically gifted people now called Olmec, the baby figures are white-surfaced-if not entirely made of white clay-and hollow. Some portray well-fed children making infantile gestures. Holding a chubby finger to its mouth, this figure is a fine example. An elaborate helmet (or perhaps a special hair arrangement) is colored red-pink with powdered cinnabar that was probably used for symbolic purposes.

Most intact Olmec ceramics have been found in burials in the central Mexican highlands. Preservation conditions in the wet climate of the Gulf Coast, where the Olmecs built their main centers, are so poor that the acid soils erode even well-fired ceramic objects. This figure is said to come from the highland site of Las Bocas in Puebla.


AMICA ID: MMA_.1979.206.1134
AMICA Library Year: 2000
Media Metadata Rights: Copyright The Metropolitan Museum of Art

AMICA PUBLIC RIGHTS: a) Access to the materials is granted for personal and non-commercial use. b) A full educational license for non-commercial use is available from Cartography Associates at www.davidrumsey.com/amica/institution_subscribe.html c) Licensed users may continue their examination of additional materials provided by Cartography Associates, and d) commercial rights are available from the rights holder.

Home | Subscribe | Preview | Benefits | About | Help | Contact
Copyright © 2007 Cartography Associates.
All rights reserved.