Chupicuaro Sculpture of a Woman

The remains of a once vibrant culture are now submerged under a lake. Fortunately, excavations in the 1940’s on the site were able to uncover sufficient artifacts to give us an intriguing picture of people who lived there centuries ago. Chupicuaro was the elaborate burial ground of a village above the Lerma River in the state of Guanajuato, eighty miles northwest of the Valley of Mexico. The abundant offerings of pottery, jade, and figurines discovered there attest to a flourishing artistic culture. One of the most endearing types of the clay objects is the small female figures, or ‘pretty ladies’. They typically show a naked female with short arms, extended stomach and a fancy coiffure or headdress.

Though this striking female figure was created in Ancient Mexico, her appeal is Universal. Such a piece transcends the boundaries of time and culture. She could have easily been understood in Babylon, Egypt or Rome. Her message is primal, old as time, inescapable. When we look upon her, we realize how much we share with the people who created her. Eternally feminine, she has lost none of her power over time.