Help ID this small statue found up in Guadalajara, Mexico

November 24, 2015 5:41 AM

One of my students brought a small statue to class. She says her family found it while digging on property they own in Guadalajara, Mexico. That's all the info she has. It's about 3 inches tall. We'd love any hints about what it is, how old it might be, or anything about it. Or even info as who to ask. Here's a photo I shot of it (balanced on my thermos) https://flic.kr/p/AvpU9a
posted by cccorlew to Society & Culture (12 answers total)

Wow. That could be Pre-Columbian, very, very old.
posted by y2karl at 5:48 AM on November 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

wow^2. i suspect it was illegal to take that out of mexico.

Restricciones: Las antigüedades y los restos arqueológicos no se pueden exportar,

source.

i'd suggest taking it back, and taking it to that big museum in mexico city full of this stuff (this place, iirc).
posted by andrewcooke at 5:50 AM on November 24, 2015 [2 favorites]

Wow, this is really cool!

You could contact the National Museum of Mexican Art here in Chicago. They have a small collection of pre-Columbian art and may be able to give you a lot more information about this.

I also happen to live very close to the museum and am happy to be a warm body here if for some reason you need one.
posted by phunniemee at 6:25 AM on November 24, 2015

Some googling turned up this page with a photo of a "pre-hispanic" figure from the Guadalajara area. Note the round hat & necklace.
posted by univac at 6:27 AM on November 24, 2015

Reminds me of a Colima figure, but the eyes are usually slitted instead of round.

I recommend calling your state archaeologist's office and asking who they recommend to take a look at a possible pre-Columbian artifact from Mexico.
posted by Mouse Army at 6:29 AM on November 24, 2015

First off, very cool. Second off, be aware that it's very likely that this is a modern figurine made in the pre-Columbian style rather than an ancient artifact. Only a professional will be able to tell for sure.

If it is ancient, you can pretty much narrow it down to Aztec or Toltec, given the region. The Mayans never spread that far. This does sort of seem like a strike against it because, to my VERY amateur eye, it looks more reminiscent of Mayan style than Aztec.

You can buy pieces like this online, claiming to be authentically pre-Columbian, starting at around $100. I bring this up so that you can dash any hopes your student might have of selling it and becoming rich.

There's no reason not to take it to a museum and see what they think of it.
posted by 256 at 6:35 AM on November 24, 2015 [6 favorites]

Most museums will not authenticate artifacts. If you are lucky, you can find someone at a museum who will give you an opinion about what something might be, if they have someone with expertise in that area on staff. You are looking for someone who has Mesoamerican expertise. Off the top of my head, one place would be the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, and you could email their American section the photos and ask: [e-mail].
posted by gudrun at 7:37 AM on November 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Clarification: This was found back in the 1960s, and they weren't digging for artifacts, or looting, they were just plowing or some such thing and turned this up.

Thanks for all the great replies. I'll try gudrun suggestion and see what happens.

I don't think she's looking to sell it, she just brought it in because we were discussing repatriation and she remembered a family keepsake.
posted by cccorlew at 7:45 AM on November 24, 2015

It's really common to find pre-Columbian artifacts when plowing or building in Mexico. It has happened to a couple of persons I know.

These figures are considered a National Patrimony, so it's illegal to take them out from Mexico and you're supposed to turn them to the INAH.
posted by clearlydemon at 8:15 AM on November 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

By the way, not judging or saying she has to send it back RITE NAO, just noting that if she has it checked in Mexico she'll never see the figure again.
posted by clearlydemon at 8:35 AM on November 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

I ... believe that cccorlew and I are co-workers. I think it might be worth showing the photos to one of our anthropology colleagues, at least one of whom does archaeology.
posted by wintersweet at 8:45 AM on November 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

to my VERY amateur eye, it looks more reminiscent of Mayan style than Aztec.

Me too. I've worked on a Mayan show, but that doesn't make me an expert. Still, it's conceivable that it could be both be old and be Mayan because of trade.

Gudrun's 100% correct that museums don't appraise or authenticate, but most are pretty generous about letting you know what they think and have useful experience with common fakes - so, for instance, if it were a tourist-art souvenir type of thing, they'd probably recgonize it pretty fast. And they can also likely direct you to good sources for more info.

it's definitely worth checking out. If original, it could be very special. In any case, it's neat, and would be nice to know more of its story.
posted by Miko at 3:47 PM on November 24, 2015