Figure of a Seated Dog Possibly 1 - 300

Editor: So here we have "Figure of a Seated Dog," a ceramic sculpture possibly from between 1 and 300 CE, crafted by the Colima culture. There's something very peaceful and dignified about this little guy; what do you see when you look at him? Curator: You know, he *does* exude a certain quiet majesty, doesn't he? For me, it’s the texture that grabs me first - all that earthy, mottled ceramic. Makes you wonder about the hands that shaped him, doesn’t it? Do you feel like you could pick him up? What is his relationship to you? He’s an ancestor who remembers secrets. He's patient as the desert wind. This pup connects us to rituals and beliefs long gone; dogs were seen as guides to the afterlife, and companions on this plane. He doesn’t judge; he waits, ears perpetually pricked. Editor: A guide to the afterlife... I hadn't considered that. I was more drawn to the way his posture suggests both alertness and a certain contentedness. Does the open mouth mean he is talking? Or breathing? Is there symbolism in the posture as well as his role? Curator: Perhaps. Imagine him not just breathing, but speaking truths in a language only the soul understands. Perhaps it isn’t “either/or," but “both." To really see him, let your ideas go and imagine smelling dust and seeing hot light... How does it feel when he turns and fixes you with his gaze? Editor: It feels... ancient, in a way I can almost touch. Thanks, that makes it less just a statue, more a presence. Curator: Precisely! That feeling, that spark – that’s the essence of art. I learned this today all over again, as a reminder: listen to him – to all of them; our hearts have antennae that can hear what voices have yet to say.