Memory Fragments: The Art of Pre-Columbian West Mexico

The Parthenon Museum welcomes the debut exhibit of its pre-Columbian collection on view for the first time since the late 1970s.  Little was known about the creators of these significant artifacts -a group of regional civilizations in what is now West Mexico which flourished from roughly 400 B.C.E. to 300 C.E. and left no written records.  Parthenon visitors will have the opportunity to view exquisite sculptures as well as other stone and ceramic artifacts from the Nayarit, Colima, Michoacán, and Jalisco regions of Western Mexico. Rich color, meticulous detail, and striking craftsmanship demonstrate the sophisticated pottery techniques and careful thought that went into the creation of each sculpture.

These objects form the narrative about and provide an illustration of the daily life, religious practices, and shaft tomb burial tradition that are central to these long vanished cultures. The idea of these objects as “memory fragments” underscores not only the role these artifacts have in recreating the past, but also their emerging popularity in the 20th century.