Pre Columbian Mexico Mexican Veracruz Culture Pottery Head of a Warrior ca. 600 to 900 CE. Measures overall with frame 7 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches, the head measures 5 1/3 X 4 1/2 X 2 1/4 inches With losses, cracks, and other wear as seen in the images.This skillfully handmade (not molded) hollow terracotta head was originally part of a larger figure depicting a proud male warrior with a naturalistic visage covered in black bitumen. The sculptor of this piece created a particularly dramatic presence, the artist painted the warrior’s face in jet-black bitumen perhaps to indicate ritualistic face paint or perhaps to indicate the color of his complexion. This warrior also wears the customary banded helmet and chin strap. A wondrous example from the ancients of Vera Cruz. Provenance The Estate of Giraud V. Foster Baltimore Maryland.