The Colima are part of a group of archaeological
cultures – known almost purely from their
artworks – referred to as the Western Mexico
Shaft Tomb (WMST) tradition. There are many
distinct groups within this agglomeration, and
their relationships are almost totally obscure due
to the lack of contextual information.
All of the cultures encompassed under the WMST
nomenclature were in the habit of burying their
dead in socially-stratified burial chambers at the
base of deep shafts, which were in turn often
topped by buildings. Originally believed to be
influenced by the Tarascan people, who were
contemporaries of the Aztecs,
thermoluminescence has pushed back the dates
of these groups over 1000 years. Although the
apogee of this tradition was reached in the last
centuries of the 1st millennium BC, it has its
origins over 1000 years earlier at sites such as
Huitzilapa and Teuchitlan, in the Jalisco region.
Little is known of the cultures themselves,
although preliminary data seems to suggest that
they were sedentary agriculturists with social
systems not dissimilar to chiefdoms. These
cultures are especially interesting to students of
Mesoamerican history as they seem to have been
to a large extent outside the ebb and flow of
more aggressive cultures – such as the Toltecs,
Olmecs and Maya – in the same vicinity. Thus
insulated from the perils of urbanization, they
developed very much in isolation, and it
behooves us to learn what we can from what they
have left behind.
The arts of this region are enormously variable
and hard to understand in chronological terms,
mainly due to the lack of context. The most
striking works are the ceramics, which were
usually placed in graves, and do not seem to
have performed any practical function (although
highly decorated utilitarian vessels are also
known). It is possible that they were designed to
depict the deceased – they are often very
naturalistic – although it is more probable that
they constituted, when in groups, a retinue of
companions, protectors and servants for the
hereafter. More abstract pieces – such as
reclinatorios – probably had a more esoteric
meaning that is hard to recapture from the piece.
The current piece falls within the Colima style,
which is perhaps the most unusual stylistic
subgroup of this region. Characterized by a
warm, red glaze, the figures are very measured
and conservative, while at the same time
displaying a great competence of line. They are
famous for their sculptures of obese dogs, which
seem to have been fattened for the table. Colima
reclinatorios are also remarkable, curvilinear yet
geometric assemblages of intersecting planes
and enigmatic constructions in the semi-
abstract.
Nowhere is the stunning
imagination of the Colima artist better
represented than in this terracotta back rest.
Originally intended for burial with the dead,
serving as an accompaniment to the deceased on
his or her long journey to the afterlife, this
reclinatorio is rendered by the Colima artist as a
fascinating combination of animals. If we let our
imagination loose, we see that the front legs and
shoulders of a dog support the upright portion
of the back rest, while the large tail fin of a fish
comprises the back tripod leg. Small fins
protruding from the sides of the body further
accentuate the aquatic attributes of this unique
sculpture when viewed from behind. Two heads
emerge from the shoulders, facing in opposite
directions, which appear both auqatic and feline
depending what angle they are viewed from. A
truly charming and eclectic array of animal
images, this reclinatorio delights our senses
while at the same time challenges our inventive
imagination.
