The artwork analyzed is entitled Figurilla de murjer con nino. The author of the work is unknown, although it dates from nearly 1325/1521. The work is a sculpture 192 cm in height made with a mold. The form of the sculpture and a stylistic approach of the author make apparent that it is deeply symbolic and was used as a ritual object for worship in Mexica during the Posclasico Tardio period.
Symbolic and ritual content of the sculpture can be seen through its design and imagery. The work demonstrates a female figure with two children in her hands. There is a girl in the right hand of the woman, and it becomes obvious that the girl and the woman are the same. There is a boy in the left hand of the woman, and he is a symbol of another side of this woman’s identity. Such things as the woman’s image and her clothes make obvious that this sculpture was the object of worship because she looks like a native Mexican woman of that time. Her naked bust, a traditional style of skirt and accessorizes make the woman look like the traditional mother goddess of Mexican people. Another important argument that demonstrates the sculpture’s ritual content is its close relation to the burials found near the well-known temple of Ehecatl in Tlatelolco. All these arguments explain that the artwork is a typical object of worship in “an archaeological Mesoamerican culture” (Frank, Preble, and Preble 356).
The sculpture Figurilla de murjer con nino appears to be an interesting and highly significant art object to investigate. Its image, style, and content make possible to say that this sculpture was used by Mexican people of pre-Columbian era as a goddess for common worship at home, therefore, the object known as a piece of traditional Mexican art today had a serious meaningful and sacral sense for the people of the Posclasico Tardio period.
- Frank, Patrick L., Preble, Duane, and Sarah Preble. Artforms: An Introduction to the Visual Arts. New York: Prentice Hall, 2005. Print.
