Jalisco. <em>Seated Couple</em>, ca. 100 B.C.E.-300 C.E. Ceramic, 17 1/2 x 15 1/4 x 10 in. (44.5 x 38.7 x 25.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Coltrera Collection, 2010.23.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2010.23.1_PS6.jpg)

Jalisco. Seated Couple, ca. 100 B.C.E.-300 C.E. Ceramic, 17 1/2 x 15 1/4 x 10 in. (44.5 x 38.7 x 25.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Coltrera Collection, 2010.23.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2010.23.1_PS6.jpg)

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

The wall info says this is a man and woman--- how do we know?

Hello! Scholars determine gender in Jalisco ceramics based on adornments and interactions.

They are both so similarly attired!

In this particular case they are pretty close, I agree!

Ceramics from Jalisco during this time period are pretty stylized, too. It's hard sometimes to tell how closely they resemble what the people at the time actually looked like or wore! A great deal of the information we have about early West Mexican culture comes from burials.

They're lovely!! I like their faces and the similarity.

They really are amazing! The pottery wheel didn't exist in Meso or South America during these time periods, which makes them even more amazing works of art to me.

Interestingly enough, we aren't the only people who like these works! The artist Diego Rivera was a major collector of West Mexican ceramics.

I think it suggests a gender parity which is v cool--- ah that makes sense, Diego Rivera's work has a similar style.

Absolutely! He added these figures into his work intentionally as they represent the history of Mexico.

How can you tell this is a marriage ceremony? Was drinking significant in their culture?

This is just one interpretation about the significance of what the couple may be doing and where. We cannot be 100% certain.

Because many of these objects are found in burials we deduce that they are of some ritual or symbolic significance. The 'Bond between human figures" was a major motif in West Mexican ceramic sculpture.

What are the two dots on the man's leg?

Many scholars think this may be scarification. You can see similar dots on the shoulders of these figures and others from Jalisco, Mexico.

Cool!

Yes! It is also incredible to think about how these figures would have been fired in open pits. There were no kilns in Mesoamerica!

When did they start to use kilns?

In the Americas, the technology was introduced by Europeans.

What are they making?

It is believed that this pairing depicts a couple, possibly at a marriage ceremony. The woman is offering her companion some kind of drink, notice the straw he brings to his mouth.

Tell me more.

The bond between human figures was a major motif in West Mexican ceramic sculpture. You can see that here in the depiction of this couple, which may be a husband and wife at a marriage ceremony. The long faces, staring eyes, and relatively less-detailed limbs are typical of Jalisco-style ceramic figures.

Did you notice the dots on the shoulders of both figures? That may represent decorative scarification.

Wow, that's interesting.

It certainly is! Many similar objects being excavated today, for which we have provenance information, originate from shaft burials. These burials would be added to through time by generations of a family.

What does BCE mean and how is this sculpture dated?

BCE stands for "Before the Common Era" meaning, in this case, 100 years before the year 0. So, about 2,117 years before present (100 + 2017).

Thanks.

Tell me more.

The bond between human figures was a major motif in West Mexican ceramic sculpture. This pairing may depict a couple, possibly at a marriage ceremony.

The long faces, staring eyes, and detailed limbs are typical of Jalisco-style ceramic figurines. The applique dots on the shoulders may represent decorative scarification.

The elongated heads may actually be based on skull-shaping practiced by the people in Jalisco at the time, a marker of cultural identity and beauty.

Any idea of why their heads are long and narrow? Do the exaggerated nose, ears and mouth signify anything?

The elongated heads are consistent with known examples of cranial deformation (the flattening of an infant's cranium) which may have been a sign of prestige. The rest of the facial features (wide eyes, long nose, and open mouth) were typical of Jalisco-style ceramic figurines of this period.

The applique dots on the shoulders may also represent decorative scarification.

Thank you.

Seated Couple

Arts of the Americas

On View: American Art Galleries, 5th Floor, The Americas’ First Peoples, 4000 B.C.E.–1521 C.E.

This sculpture of a seated couple may depict a marriage ceremony. The woman holds a bowl containing an unknown beverage for her companion, who brings a drinking tube to his mouth. The intimate nature of their relationship is suggested by their touching legs and the man’s arm gently draped over his partner’s shoulder.

CULTURE Jalisco

MEDIUM Ceramic

Place Made: Jalisco, Mexico

DATES ca. 100 B.C.E.-300 C.E.

DIMENSIONS 17 1/2 x 15 1/4 x 10 in. (44.5 x 38.7 x 25.4 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Arts of the Americas

ACCESSION NUMBER 2010.23.1

CREDIT LINE Gift of the Coltrera Collection

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Seated man and woman joined at the legs and facing each other. The woman holds a bowl for her companion, who brings a drinking tube to his mouth. One of the man's arms is gently draped over the woman's shoulder. This sculpture is in the Ameca-Etzatlán style which is characterized by elongated heads; large, carved eyes; straight, naturalistic noses; and open mouths displaying incised teeth. The elongated heads are consistent with cranial deformation - the flattening of the infant's cranium - which was probably a sign of prestige. Both figures wear almost identical hair styles or headdresses with a headband decorated with appliqué dots. Additional adornments include earspools, leg bands (on the man), a skirt (on the woman), and appliqué dots on the shoulders possibly representing decorative scarification. Condition: good; some surface abrasions and chips.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in American Art Galleries, 5th Floor, The Americas’ First Peoples, 4000 B.C.E.–1521 C.E.

CAPTION Jalisco. Seated Couple, ca. 100 B.C.E.-300 C.E. Ceramic, 17 1/2 x 15 1/4 x 10 in. (44.5 x 38.7 x 25.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Coltrera Collection, 2010.23.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2010.23.1_PS6.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 2010.23.1_PS6.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2011

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.

Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

The wall info says this is a man and woman--- how do we know?

Hello! Scholars determine gender in Jalisco ceramics based on adornments and interactions.

They are both so similarly attired!

In this particular case they are pretty close, I agree!

They're lovely!! I like their faces and the similarity.

They really are amazing! The pottery wheel didn't exist in Meso or South America during these time periods, which makes them even more amazing works of art to me.

Interestingly enough, we aren't the only people who like these works! The artist Diego Rivera was a major collector of West Mexican ceramics.

I think it suggests a gender parity which is v cool--- ah that makes sense, Diego Rivera's work has a similar style.

Absolutely! He added these figures into his work intentionally as they represent the history of Mexico.

How can you tell this is a marriage ceremony? Was drinking significant in their culture?

This is just one interpretation about the significance of what the couple may be doing and where. We cannot be 100% certain.

What are the two dots on the man's leg?

Many scholars think this may be scarification. You can see similar dots on the shoulders of these figures and others from Jalisco, Mexico.

Cool!

Yes! It is also incredible to think about how these figures would have been fired in open pits. There were no kilns in Mesoamerica!

When did they start to use kilns?

In the Americas, the technology was introduced by Europeans.

What are they making?

It is believed that this pairing depicts a couple, possibly at a marriage ceremony. The woman is offering her companion some kind of drink, notice the straw he brings to his mouth.

Tell me more.

Did you notice the dots on the shoulders of both figures? That may represent decorative scarification.

Wow, that's interesting.

What does BCE mean and how is this sculpture dated?

BCE stands for "Before the Common Era" meaning, in this case, 100 years before the year 0. So, about 2,117 years before present (100 + 2017).

Thanks.

Tell me more.

The bond between human figures was a major motif in West Mexican ceramic sculpture. This pairing may depict a couple, possibly at a marriage ceremony.

The long faces, staring eyes, and detailed limbs are typical of Jalisco-style ceramic figurines. The applique dots on the shoulders may represent decorative scarification.

The elongated heads may actually be based on skull-shaping practiced by the people in Jalisco at the time, a marker of cultural identity and beauty.

Any idea of why their heads are long and narrow? Do the exaggerated nose, ears and mouth signify anything?

The applique dots on the shoulders may also represent decorative scarification.

Thank you.