*Exceptionnelle statue Lot n° 29

presenting a warrior dignitary, a sacrificial priest or an agrarian deity. He is standing, his waist covered by a wide belt, his torso inflated, his powerful stature camped on massive legs. He is brandishing an axe with his left hand, and clutching a trophy head in his right arm. The smallness of the head should be noted, and it can be assumed that it is a reduced head comparable to the famous Tsantsas of the Jivaros of Ecuador, for whom they were war trophies. In the pre-Columbian period the populations of this region of Costa Rica, practiced rituals of decapitations in the honor of the Moon. These cut heads, were intended to fertilize the earth, in relation to this star. The axe is also the emblem of the god of rain. Should we see in this representation, the image of a warrior, a shaman sacrificer or an agrarian deity, the question remains. Carved volcanic stone, good general state of conservation, marks of time. Atlantic slope, Costa Rica, 800-1200 AD 100 x 52 x 29.5 cm Provenance: former collection M. Rabier, Brussels since 1965 Bibliography: Mystère de l'homme magie de l'objet, chez d'œuvre des musées Royaux d'art et d'histoire, Brussels, 1976, p.144/146, f.118, for a similar work in the museum's collections. This statue is a fine example of the monumental sculptures found on the Atlantic slope of Costa Rica during periods V and VI, between 700 and 1200 A.D. It is among the largest figurative sculptures created by artists in northeastern Costa Rica. These statues adorned the plazas and enhanced the ceremonial mounds and residences of the elite as public proclamations of the power of the clan and its leaders.