She wears a large, broad helmet or headdress painted in red-orange slip, burnished dark red slip shirt, and burnished red slip skirt. Slip is made of different colors of clay and minerals mixed with water. After the slip was applied and allowed to dry, the surface was burnished (rubbed to a high polish) with a stone. Then the vessel was fired in an earthen pit. The incised lines on the helmet, shirt and skirt may have been scratched on after firing. Looking at the face of figure, you can see traces of matte yellow paint, also applied after firing.
This figure has the body proportions of a typical female Chorrera figure. Notice how the facial features are small, except for the large closed eyes with heavy, defined eyelids. The headdress seems to be a helmet-like turban and flares widely out from the face, giving the head a rounded triangular shape perhaps indicating cranial deformation. To see two similar Chorrera figures in the Johnson Museum’s collection, search for object numbers 2006.070.019 and 2006.070.020 in the keyword search box.