Lerfigur, figur, figurine, sculpture

Unknown artist

11 cm hög sittande figur med polykrom dekor. Huvudet sönder och saknas till största delen. Föremålet uppgavs av samlaren som typiskt för Santa Cruz Guanacaste, d.v.s. Nicoya-kultur, n.v. Costa Rica. Föremålet är ett exempel på s.k. "open head figures", se Doris Stone: Introduduction to the Archaeology of Casta Rica, San José 1950, avsnittet om Nicoya-regionen, fig 11 e och tillhörande text p. 38:-"This is the commonest type of figurine in the Nicoya Region. The slip is generally red with painted details in black, although cream white and light orange slips are also seen. These figures are as a rule seatad females with outstretched legs and stylized horizontally formed head. Some hold a baby at the hip. An interesting feature of these statuettes is that a number have a handle-like hole at the rear /även på museets fragmentariska exemplar, obs!/ at the rear to be used for suspension, perhaps from the temple or house wall as a votiv offering, and some are ocarinas. This style of figure is also found in southwestern Nicaragua and occasionally in Linea Vieja. It is a type which recalls both Venezuelan figurines and "archaic" Mexican styles."