*Chamane métamorphosé en jaguar Lot n° 34

The human attitude is translated by his posture, standing on his two legs, but his wild attributes make him leave the world of men to assimilate the animal world. The face adopts the features of a feline, notably the shape of its rounded skull and erect ears. The muzzle, with its rolled-up lips, reveals long canines. As for the hands and the feet, they are in reality large clawed paws. His attitude is dynamic. It is camped on its muscular legs, the left arm raised while the right arm tries to clutch or scratch a potential danger. He stands solidly on his hind legs, slightly bent, whose claws seem to be sticking out to sink into the ground. It maintains its balance with its long, thick tail. The sex of the creature is clearly signified by a powerful phallus. This transformation is interesting because it combines several key symbols, including the feline and the erect phallus, which are ways of symbolizing concepts such as animal strength and the male principle related to fertility. The human posture, combined with the power of the wild animal, adds expressiveness to the representation. The animal dimension, the bestial aggressiveness, enrich the divine potential of the character. Beige hollow clay, red pigment and traces of manganese oxide Tumaco, La Tolita, Ecuador, 100-500 AD 19.6 x 14.5 x 14.1 cm Provenance: - Former D.V. Gallery collection since 1969 - Mermoz Gallery, 2012 A sense of strength emanates from this ceramic sculpture that belies its size. This piece is comparable to another representation, kept in the Israel Museum. Standing, the feline roars, showing its powerful jaws and sharp-clawed paws. As on our piece, the tongue hanging out and the erect phallus are displayed. And, the anthropomorphism is located at the level of the biped and the ears, almost human. This piece is characteristic of the large statuettes produced in Tumaco La Tolita, which represent shamans or warriors. The being, half man, half animal, in full metamorphosis (jaguar, bird, bat...) evokes more particularly the shamanic experience. The scenes of transmutation, or transformation, constitute one of the recurring shamanic themes. As guardian of the physical and spiritual balance of the social group for which he is responsible, the shaman fights to protect the souls that have gone astray or are trapped by hostile forces.