Pre-Columbian, Ecuador, Jama Coaque (Jamacoaque) culture, ca. 500 CE. This is a really great piece that calls to mind L.P. Hartley's phrase, "The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there." A dynamic and highly complex figure of a shaman caught as he or she transforms into a jaguar. The figure's features are transformed, wild, and animalian. They are perched atop a round stand and their tail extends to a similarly round, hollow end. Painted in exquisite detail with yellow and red, the figure wears a huge headdress but is otherwise unclothed. Shamanic transformation - brought on in part by the ingestion of coca leaves - was a huge part of the Jama Coaque pottery, a turning away from earlier Ecuadorian pottery traditions (Valdivian, Chorrera) that were focused on representations of the body. In this new phase in ancient Ecuadorian society, status and different occupations for individuals suddenly became important to show artistically - suggesting that this was the period when their culture began to stratify and become culturally complex, with individuals in the society having specialized roles like shaman. Size: 4.25" L x 2.6" W x 4.25" H (10.8 cm x 6.6 cm x 10.8 cm)

Provenance: Ex-Private Maricopa County, AZ collection

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#118390

Possible tiny loss to nose. Something small seems to be missing from the base - possibly just the line of pottery that forms a ring on the other parts of the base. Very small chip to the back bottom corner of one side of the headdress. Otherwise in great condition with much pigment remaining.