The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2024

Female Figure

Female Figure

100 BCE–700 CE
Overall: 28.6 x 13.4 x 10.3 cm (11 1/4 x 5 1/4 x 4 1/16 in.)
Location: 232 Andean

Description

This figure, which may once have worn small garments, might be a tomb offering. Her tapered head reflects the practice of cranial shaping, which may identify her social group and serve as a mark of beauty. Her fleshy hips likely refer to human and plant fertility, since food is the source of such bodily wealth. Her identity is unknown.
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, “Major European Porcelain Crucifix, Pre-Columbian Figure, and Other Works Added to CMA Collection,” December 3, 1997, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
    Young-Sanchez, Margaret, "Andean Offering", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 39 no. 01, January 1999 Mentioned & reproduced: p. 8 archive.org
    Franklin, David. The Cleveland Museum of Art. London: Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Ltd., 2012. Reproduced: p. 22 - 23
  • New York, NY: The Guggenheim Museum; 1968. "Master Craftsmen of Ancient Peru."
  • {{cite web|title=Female Figure|url=false|author=|year=100 BCE–700 CE|access-date=28 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1997.184