Male "Sonriente" Figure

Label

What is the meaning of a smile? Curving our lips upward and, at times, revealing our teeth are frequently associated with happiness, humor, and welcome, and in the modern world it can even seem jarring when someone does not smile. However, the expressive face of sonriente figures such as this one was actually unusual in Mesoamerican art, where figures rarely show emotion.

Debate persists regarding the significance of sonrientes, which seem to have been made in large quantities in the central gulf coast of Mexico. Some scholars believe that these emotive ceramics represent performers, while their unusual bodily proportions lead others to think that they may be spiritual entities. Another popular suggestion is that the sonrientes may represent individuals who have consumed pulque, an alcoholic drink made from the maguey (agave) plant. We often search for a single answer to a historical mystery, but it is possible that, like a smile, sonrientes themselves may have many meanings.

From the 2024 exhibition Ancient Narratives: A New Look at Old Art, curated by Ashley B. Offill, Curator of Collections

Course History

ANTH 5, Reconstructing the Past: Introduction to Archaeology, Alan Covey, Spring 2012

ANTH 5, Reconstructing the Past: Introduction to Archaeology, Alan Covey, Spring 2013

ANTH 5, Reconstructing the Past: Introduction to Archaeology, Alan Covey, Spring 2013

ANTH 5, Introduction to Archaeology, Alan Covey, Spring 2014

ANTH 5, Introduction to Archaeology, Alan Covey, Spring 2014

SART 17.08, Digital Drawing, Karol Kawiaka, Fall 2020

COCO 26.01, What's in Your Toolbox?, Heidi Denzel and Mokhtar Bouba, Fall 2022

COCO 26.01, What's in Your Toolbox?, Heidi Denzel and Mokhtar Bouba, Fall 2022

Anthropology 3.01, Introduction to Anthropology, Charis Ford Morrison Boke, Summer 2023

Italian 3.01, Introductory Italian III, Floriana Ciniglia, Winter 2024

Religion 4.01, Jewish Studies 4.01, Religion of Israel: Hebrew Bible, Susan Ackerman, Winter 2024

Studio Art 16.01, Sculpture I, Matt Siegle, Winter 2024

Anthropology 55.01, Anthropology of Global Health, Anne Sosin, Spring 2024

Geography 21.01, International Studies 18.01, Global Health and Society, Anne Sosin, Spring 2024

Exhibition History

Ancient and Premodern Global Cultures, Gene Y. Kim Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 26, 2019.

Global Cultures at the Hood: Ancient to Premodern, Gene Y. Kim Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 26. 2019.

Provenance

Collected by Ritchie Cornelius Smith (1904-1989), San Francisco, California, date unknown; given to present collection, 1962.

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Subjects