Pre-Columbian, Ecuador, La Tolita (sometimes Tumaco) culture, ca. 350 BCE to 350 CE. A rare, fascinating sculpture of a goddess, made from an ungulate bone and expertly carved with openwork details. The goddess stands atop the snarling head of a jaguar; her massive headdress is also zoomorphic. She is depicted nude aside from armlets, anklets, huge earrings, and the headdress. She seems to have androgynous characteristics, similar to other early figures from Ecuador; archaeologists have interpreted her as an ancestral creator goddess who at the beginning of time created the world from the sacrifice of her own body. Figural bone carvings like this example are exceptionally rare, making this an outstanding example from ancient Ecuador! Size: 1.4" W x 5.25" H (3.6 cm x 13.3 cm); 5.55" H (14.1 cm) on included custom stand.
The artistic creations from the Ecuadorian culture of La Tolita / Tumaco were some of the finest in ancient South America. Many wood and bone figurines, ceramic creations, and stone carvings depicted naturalistic details seldom observed in Pre-Columbian artwork, with almost all of them exhibiting ear ornamentation, nose rings, large pectorals, or other forms of fine embellishments. La Tolita artisans crafted simple yet effective stone tools to shape hard substances into recognizable forms, which also increased their proficiency in carving semi-precious stones as well.
Provenance: private New York, USA collector from 1966; ex-Lands Beyond Gallery, New York, USA
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#151374
Condition
Small losses from peripheries, but overall in great condition, with rich patina and light deposits on surface. Form and details are vivid.