Pre-Hispanic Ceramic Sculpture from Mexico, "Comala Dog"

Baying at the moon, this plump little dog with wrinkled skin replicates those found in shaft tombs throughout western Mexico. Artisans from the Angel Cerón Artisan Association depict the xoloitzcuintli, a cheerful, barkless species prized by ancient man. Sculpted in clay as funerary offerings, they accompanied their masters in death to aid the soul in crossing rivers of blood along the road of the dead. This is a replica of a museum piece from Comala, Colima.