Large Colima Dog

The Large Colima Dog is an iconic Pre-Columbian ceramic figure produced by the ancient cultures of the Colima region in western Mexico, dating approximately from 200 BCE to 500 CE. These hollow, burnished terracotta sculptures depicting hairless dogs (likely the Xoloitzcuintli breed) were crafted as funerary offerings placed in shaft tombs, believed to guide the souls of the deceased into the underworld. Renowned for their expressive, naturalistic forms and reddish-brown slip, these figures have become among the most celebrated and widely collected examples of ancient Mesoamerican art.