Ceramic sculptures from the Zenú culture are almost always of women, although the way in which they are depicted varies enormously over the vast time period and region in which the Zenú flourished (see also M.2007.146.13 and .621). The crescent-moon shape of the figure’s head signals an association between the lunar cycle and female fertility. However, even though a number of effigies of this exact shape have been found, their exact meaning is unknown.
Over a number of years of close collaboration between LACMA and the Arhuaco community (see Burtenshaw et al. 2022), we learned that deciphering the narrative encoded in ancestral objects and motifs is not the only way to expand our understanding of them. As well as their iconography or function, their essence matters. According to Arhuaco elders, pieces like this were created as reciprocal offerings to the earth, to maintain balance in the network of life; in other words, to help manage the universe. They contain the essence of ancestral beings and create bridges between different times and places, us and them, past and present. This beautiful, enigmatic sculpture invites us to connect with a different culture, perspective, and worldview.
Selected Bibliography
Burtenshaw, Julia, Diana Magaloni, Maria Alicia Uribe, and Hector Garcia Botero, eds. The Portable Universe/El Universo en tus Manos: Thought and Splendor of Indigenous Colombia. LACMA/DelMonico Prestel, 2022.
