Object Name: Male figure
Place of Origin: Colima, West Mexico
Date: Protoclassic, 200 B.C.E.-400 C.E.
Materials Used: Ceramic
Dimensions: H: 35.5 cm, W: 37.5 cm, D: 20.5 cm (H: 13.9 in, W: 14.8 in, D: 8.1 in)
Credit line and Accession Number: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Skip Brittenham and Mr. and Mrs. Ken Ziffren. X81.246

A vast array of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures in ancient West Mexican tombs had highly symbolic associations and related to the practice of shamanism and beliefs about the afterlife. Ceramic figures wearing conical headpieces and wielding weapons have been identified either as shamans or as rulers wearing conch-shell headdresses.

Gallery text, Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives, 2006