Seated male and female figures

Paired Figures: Embodying Duality 

Many West Mexican figures were created in male-female pairs matched in size and position and wearing complementary clothing, jewelry, and body ornamentation. Gender is, nonetheless, clearly indicated. Female figures often hold bowls or small children, signs of their domestic roles. Men may grasp tools, weapons, or rubber balls from the Mesoamerican ballgame to reflect their public-facing positions and activities.  

Such pairs could represent ancestors or the family members buried in the tombs in which the works were placed. They may also stand in for the primordial couple, the origin of life itself. As such, they suggest a broader cosmic view rooted in duality and the balance of opposites.