Abstract

CHINCHILLA MAZARIEGOS, Oswaldo  and  FAUVET-BERTHELOT, Marie-France. Of barons and potbellies: the long journey of the sculptures from Concepción, Escuintla. Estud. cult. maya [online]. 2018, vol.52, pp.77-104. ISSN 0185-2574.  https://doi.org/10.19130/iifl.ecm.2018.52.914.

The monumental sculptures known as “barrigones” (potbelly sculptures) form a distinctive genre of Pre-Columbian art in the southern Maya area. In this article, we explore the provenance and history of three sculptures that were extracted in the nineteenth century from finca Concepción, Escuintla, Guatemala, and taken to museums in Germany and France. Through the study of unpublished documents, we demonstrate that they originated from a single archeological site, and correct mistakes in previous works, which attributed them to other sites and even other regions. We summarize the role and motivations of three individuals (a landowner, a diplomat, and an archaeologist) who participated in the sculptures’ appropriation, who illustrate the economic, political, and intellectual processes that determined the fate of the sculptures. Our conclusions allow a better understanding of the genre and contribute to the history of archaeology in Guatemala.

Keywords : History of archaeology; Guatemala; Escuintla; sculptures; potbellies.

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