Ceramic Colima Dog
Ceramic monochrome. Hollow, burnished red clay dog effigy pot. "xoloitzcuintli"
Pronounced - (show-low-eats-queent-li)
Shaft tomb piece.
- Object: Ceramic Colima Dog
- Artist: -
- Circa: 300 B.C.-A.D. 300
- Dimensions: 9" long 5 3/4" high
- Culture Area: Mesoamerica
- Cultural Group: Colima / West Mexico
- Cultural Context: These dogs were raised to be eaten, although in addition to raising them as a food source, many people of Mexico believed that a dog accompanied a person's soul on the journey into the underworld. Discovery of these dog sculptures and mummified dogs in tombs suggests they were intended as companions for the deceased. The Xolo dog was named after the god who would lead the deceased into the afterlife. Xolotl ("Lord of the Underworld") was the deity who aided the dead on their journey to the afterlife.
- Donor: Ken Murphy
- Catalog #: 90.143