Pre-Columbian, Chile, San Pedro, Atacama Desert, Tiahuanaco / Tiwanaku culture, ca. 4th to 8th century CE. A hand-carved wooden snuff tray of rectangular form that is surmounted by a stylized jaguar. The tray features a recessed central cavity for preparing the snuff for inhalation and a band of carved crosshatching beneath the large feline. The jaguar presents with bared fangs, a curled tail, semicircular paws, and a raised head with bat-like ears. Dark brown patina covers the entire sculpture. Size: 1.875" W x 6.5" H (4.8 cm x 16.5 cm); 6.75" H (17.1 cm) on included custom stand.

Cf. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 2000.2

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection, before 2010; ex-private Hans Juergen Westermann collection, Germany, acquired in the 1950s to 1960s

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#173453

Chips and abrasions to snuff tray and jaguar commensurate with age, with chips to lower periphery and face of jaguar, light encrustations, and several stable fissures along the peripheries. Nice patina throughout. Old inventory label on verso.