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pair of carved wooden figures of a woman and a manstatue of a woman in a green dress holding a birdstatue of a woman holding a basket on a wooden block
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Premium Maître Christophe HERBELIN

114 - A pair of statuettes depicting an Inca ruler and a Coya.
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Estimate €600 - €1,000
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Description
A pair of statuettes depicting an Inca ruler and a Coya. Carved wood, gesso/stucco ground and polychrome paint; some old repainting, chips and minor losses. Peru, probably from the Cuzco school, late 18th – early 19th century. Height: 38 and 37.5 cm. This rare pair likely depicts an Inca ruler accompanied by a Coya, a title held by the ruler’s principal wife. The dignified poses and opulent clothing place them within an iconography of aristocratic representation. The ruler wears a short pleated tunic, a draped cloak and a distinctive headdress, whilst the Coya, with a more Europeanised silhouette, is dressed in a long gown and adorned with a large medallion. The rosy complexions, wavy hair and treatment of the drapery bear witness to the Andean workshops’ assimilation of European models—particularly Baroque and Classicist styles—combined with indigenous elements. This synthesis is characteristic of Peruvian colonial art and its idealised representations of the ancient Inca elites. The technique of carved wood, prepared with gesso and then polychromed, offers an interesting parallel with the rare series of effigies of Inca rulers and women of the dynasty held at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard, Peruvian colonial sculptures that were already collected in the early 19th century. This pair thus belongs to the relatively rare tradition of sculpted representations of the Inca nobility and dynasties produced towards the end of the colonial period. Expert: Mr Serge REYNES
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Auction time 10/14/2026 at 1:30 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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