Veracruz Ceramics
The modern state of Veracruz lies along the Mexican Gulf Coast, north of the Maya lowlands and east of the highlands of central Mexico. Culturally diverse and environmentally rich, the people of Veracruz took part in dynamic interchanges between three regions that over the centuries included trade, warfare, and migration. During the middle centuries of the first millennium, the artistically gifted Veracruzanos created particularly inventive ceramic sculpture in diverse yet related styles.
Until the early 1950s, Classic Veracruz ceramics were few, little understood, and generally without provenance (known history). Since then, the recovery of thousands of figurines and pottery pieces from sites such as Remojadas and Nopiloa (some initially found by looters), has expanded our understanding and filled many museum shelves. Artist and art historian Miguel Covarrubias described Classic Veracruz ceramics as "powerful and expressive, endowed with a charm and sensibility unprecedented in other, more formal cultures."
Figurines from Remojadas and Nopiloa
Remojadas-style figurines, perhaps the most easily recognizable, are usually hand-modeled and often adorned with appliqués. Of particular note are the Sonrientes (Smiling) Figurines, with triangular-shaped heads and outstretched arms. Figurines from Nopiloa are usually less ornate, without appliqués, and are often molded. The Sonrientes figure from Remojadas (below) provides scholars with an example of the clothing worn in ancient times, such as the loincloth and headdress. The flattened forehead on this smiling-faced figure may represent the practice of intentional cranial deformation, or it may simply reflect an artistic convention. Many American cultures considered a flattened forehead desirable and used a variety of techniques to flatten the skulls of infants while they were still pliable.
Smiling Figure, Late Classic Period, 7th-8th century, Remojadas, Veracruz, Mexico, 45.5cm high
Made of brown clay with white pigment. The figure contains both hand-modeled and mold-made elements.
Another smiling figure from the Remojadas region of Veracruz (below) is a hollow ceramic sculpture representing an individual celebrating with music and dance. This bare-chested figure, with open mouth and filed teeth, stands energetically with legs spread and arms lifted as if caught in mid-motion. He wears a woven cap with geometric patterns, an elaborate skirt, circular earrings, a beaded necklace and a bracelet. His face and body contain painted patterns, evocative of body paint, including slight lines emanating from his lower eyelids and onto his cheeks. This sculpture evokes a festive dance or ritual accompanied by the rhythmic reverberation of the hand-held rattle and celebratory sound escaping from the figure's open mouth.
Smiling Figure, Late Classic Period, 7th–8th century, Remojadas, Veracruz, Mexico, 45cm high
In contrast to Smiling Figures from Remojadas, the mold-made ceramic figure from Nopiloa (below) depicts a bearded, mustachioed male wearing a ballgame yoke around his waist to protect him from the hard, solid rubber ball used in play. There are cylindrical ear ornaments in his ears and, beneath his arm, a baton-like object perhaps related to the local incarnation of the ballgame. The rules and manner in which the Mesoamerican ballgame was played varied among contemporary sites and evolved through time. Surviving evidence suggests human sacrifice was a frequent outcome, but the game may also have been played for other purposes, such as sport. The people of ancient Veracruz interacted with people from other Mesoamerican cultures, and this Nopiloa figure displays motifs commonly found in Maya art. Knotted ties, like those around this player's wrist and neck, in Maya pictorial language connote captured prisoners. A motif similar to the Maya mat, a symbol of rulership, appears on the flanged headdress of the ballplayer. Like Maya figurines of this type, the body of this figure is a whistle, a musical instrument used in ritual and ceremony.