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Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
Temple Model
Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
© Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami. All rights reserved.

Temple Model

Artist/Maker (Pacific Coast, Mexico)
Dateca. 300 BCE-300 CE
Mediumpottery and slip paint
DimensionsOverall: 10 x 5 1/2 x 8 3/4 in. (25.4 x 14 x 22.2 cm)
ClassificationsVisual Works
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Terms
    Object number91.0010
    DescriptionNayarit art commonly depicts group scenes in architectural settings. While many are peaceful domestic events or communal celebrations such as the ballgame, this temple model has a more explicitly ritual focus. Elevated on a large supporting platform, the temple has a pyramidal roof and steep staircase. A human figure, clearly a sacrificial victim, lays motionless on the stairs with a deep chest wound, an indication that a sacrifice has been performed and the victim’s heart has been removed as an offering to the gods. This temple model offers a powerful representation of one of the most extensive of Mesoamerican religious practices. Sacrifice was seen as necessary for the origin and maintenance of the cosmos and human life, and was a complex and thoughtful process. The Nayarit tradition is characterized by a great variety of themes depicted in three-dimensional ceramic objects, and the dramatic representation of ritual sacrifice seen in this piece serves as a vivid reminder of the central role religion played in the lives of ancient Mesoamerican people.
    On View
    Not on view
    Collections
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Xipe Totec
    ca. 450-650
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Figure
    Olmec
    ca. 600-300 BCE
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Figure
    Classic Veracruz
    ca. 600-800
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Male Figure
    Pihuamo
    ca. 300 BCE-300 CE
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Face Mask
    Artist Unknown
    early 20th century
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Toad
    Olmec
    ca. 800-300 BCE
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Hacha
    Maya (archaeological culture)
    ca. 900-1200
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Female Figure Nursing an Infant
    Teotihuacán
    ca. 350-550
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Clown Figure or Phallic Dancer
    Colima
    ca. 300 BCE-300 CE
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Vertumnus
    Artist Unknown
    ca. 200-250
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Figure
    Nayarit
    ca. 300 BCE-300 CE
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Funerary Urn
    Maya (archaeological culture)
    ca. 700-900
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