Vintage Mexican Xolo Dog Guardian Figure Nahua Guerrero Leather 18 in For Sale

Price

$225 - Free worldwide shipping

Description

A Nahua guardian figure from Xalitla, Guerrero. The head is a hand-carved copal mask of a dog, the xoloitzcuintli. It sits on a body cut from hide and painted by hand, dressed with ribbon streamers and two brass bells on a purple cord. Mid-20th century, 18 inches tall with an 11 inch arm span.

Provenance

Acquired from a fine-art gallery in Tonalá, Jalisco, in business for fifty years, whose owner vetted the piece personally. The gallery reports that it came from a private family collection, where it was kept for generations as a protector.

The guardian

In Nahua belief, the soul of the dead travels to Mictlán, the underworld, and a dog carries it across the river on the way. Dogs were buried with the dead for that purpose. The gallery places this figure in the tradition of the angelitos: children who die young are held to be without sin and to go straight to heaven as little angels. The Catholic name and the older Nahua guide meet in one object, a guardian for a child’s soul.

The body is painted in the Alto Balsas manner of the Nahua villages along the Balsas river. A bouquet of feathered sprays rises above a white bird, floral medallions run down the arms, and plants grow from a band of green grass on each leg. In Nahua thought, the honored dead returned as birds that travelled with the sun.

Condition

Wear consistent with age and handling. The mask has paint loss to bare wood at the muzzle tip, ear rims and brow, and the red paint on its back is worn and flaking. The painted hide shows fine crazing across the arms and hands, with small losses at the left hand, and the unpainted back is darkened with age. The ribbons are faded and frayed at the ends. The mask, bells and cord are intact, with no breaks or visible repairs.

Appraisal

Gallery replacement value: $500. This is what it would cost to replace this piece through a gallery, for insurance and estate purposes.

About the photographs

Some photographs show the figure staged in a setting. Those backgrounds are digitally created only to help you imagine the piece in a room. The figure itself is unaltered and untouched in every image. Plain-background photographs of the actual piece are included as well. Only the figure is included.

Shipping and import fees

The price includes DHL Express shipping anywhere in the world, with tracking. The piece is packed by Diseños de Cartón in Guadalajara.

Import duty and tax are the buyer’s responsibility. The tariff code is 9705.10, collectors’ pieces of ethnographic interest. Most markets let it in duty-free, and it qualifies for a reduced tax rate wherever one exists.

If your delivery country differs from your account country, message me before purchasing.

Estimates on a $225 value:

Destination | Import duty | Import tax | Estimated total

United States | 0% | none collected at import | $0

Canada | 0% | 5% GST, or 13–15% HST by province | $11 – $34

United Kingdom | 0% | 5% reduced-rate import VAT on collectors’ pieces | about $11

European Union | 0% | 5.5% – 13.5% reduced rate, set by your country | $12 – $30

Australia | none on orders under AUD 1,000 | 10% GST, charged at checkout | about $23, paid at checkout

Where tax is collected at delivery, DHL adds a small advancement fee, typically $12 to $20.

Questions

You will always reach a real person, never AI.

God bless,

Ricardo Ivan Cardenas EMBA

St. Joseph’s University New York Business School Graduate

item specifics

Handmade: Yes

Provenance: Ownership History Available

Country of Origin: Mexico

California Prop 65 Warning: N/A

Culture: Mexican, Nahua

Date of Creation: c. 1940–1960

Dimensions: 11\" W x 18\" H (28 x 46 cm)

Type: Ceremonial Guardian Figure

Subject: Xoloitzcuintli dog guardian, soul guide to Mictlán

Region of Origin: Xalitla, Guerrero, Mexico

Material: Hand-Carved Copal Wood, Hand-Painted Leather, Satin Ribbon, Brass Bells