Where is this stone woman from?

July 2, 2008 3:59 PM

Can anyone identify where this statue of woman might have come from? (pictures and details inside)

I recently received this statue from grandmother. There are pictures of it here
and this one and this one from the back.

Does anyone have any idea where it might have come from? It seems like some kind of native art. It is stone on a painted wooden base. There are no maker markings that I could find. The fish appears to be glued onto the woman's hands (rather than being made of one piece). It was probably acquired by my grandparents sometime in the 1940's or 1950's.

posted by metahawk to media & arts (3 comments total)

She looks sort of central American or indigenous Mexican to me, possibly art made for the tourist trade during the 30's or 40's. That's just a guess though.
posted by pluckysparrow at 7:26 PM on July 2

This is odd...it seems to mimic a culture that is all about making figures to show a voluptuous and curvy woman representing fertility.

The weird thing is, that the woman is holding a fish above her head. Kinda empowering her. Fish is also food. Not the kind of food that you grow, or work the fields to get...but the kind of food that you have the men-folk getting. I don't know of ANY art that shows that (minus modern art, or art from the or after major feminist movements.

If its glued, I'm guessing it may be native art...native to a beginning art student at a college near them.

Also, look at the material, it seems like the stuff they use to make fountains and structures in the 60's/70s in city playgrounds. I'm guessing its from THAT era.

Your best bet is to check the underside of the base. Thats where you will see a date, and initials.

Good luck.
posted by hal_c_on at 7:29 PM on July 2

There no markings at all on the bottom of the base. I certainly wouldn't be surprised if it was produced for tourists and/or a student work. I'm certainly curious about any further hints as to its providence.
posted by metahawk at 10:16 PM on July 2