A Monumental Precolumbian Veracruz Standing Priest

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Monumental Veracruz priest in buff color terracotta with extended horizontal arms and rectangular headdress looking at the sun. This pose is typical of Veracruz pieces particularly those of the Totonac people and the very smiling face figures. These pieces were used during special ceremonies. Many of the other pieces found were whistles and other musical instruments.The peculiarity of this piece is in its size since it escaped from any written context. Only the great Mexican writer Octavio Paz on his way back from India as Mexican ambassador during the writing of his great book “Ladera Este” wrote essay beautiful essay about these Veracruz figures when sitting on his library on a sunny morning suddenly trapped his attention, the sunrise capturing the divine glimpse of his collection. In his essay he described these pieces as “living in the divine atmosphere yet not deities themselves.”  Classical Veracruz (500 – 750 AD), Mexico.

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