Description
From the first millennium B.C. until the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century, artists from across the ancient Americas created small-scale architectural effigies to be placed in the tombs of important individuals. These works in stone, ceramic, wood, and metal range from highly abstracted, minimalist representations of temples and houses to elaborate complexes populated with figures, conveying a rich sense of ancient ritual and daily life. Although described as models, these effigies were created not so much as reflections or prototypes of existing structures, but rather as critical, conceptual components of funerary practice and beliefs about an afterlife.

![The Art of German Stoneware, 1300-1900: From the Charles W. Nichols Collection and the Philadelphia Museum of Art [Paperback] Hinton, Jack](https://artwheelshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/61x0T1TJZWL._SY342_-1.jpg)
![The Wyvern Collection: Medieval and Later Ivory Carvings and Small Sculpture [Hardcover] Williamson, Paul](https://artwheelshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/61YR4fz0JsL._SY466_-1-300x450.jpg)

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![Make It New: Abstract Painting from the National Gallery of Art, 19501975 [Paperback] Cooper, Harry; Breslin, David and Jolly, Matt](https://artwheelshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/61i1k-PWaAL._SY522_-1-300x450.jpg)



![Parmigianino: the Alchemy of Beauty -- Drawings and Prints [Paperback] Main, Sally & Teresa Parker Farris](https://artwheelshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/91sRp3bUAL._SY425_-1-300x425.jpg)
![Waking Dreams: The Art of the Pre-Raphaelites from the Delaware Art Museum [Paperback] Delaware Art Museum; Wildman, Stephen and Art Services International](https://artwheelshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/81u3OWUqWdL._SY466_-1-300x450.jpg)


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