Pre-Columbian, Maya territories, late Preclassic, ca. 400 BCE to 250 CE. A fascinating, large, pale sandstone sculpture depicting a shaman in the act of transformation into a sacred jaguar; between his legs he holds a trophy head. The shaman's body is crouched, his limbs contorted as he changes into the pose of a quadruped. His face is still recognizably human, but his wide eyes and mouth make his face a leering rictus, as his tranformation is no doubt painful. The trophy head between his legs is noticeably different in expression, so that there is no mistake that it represents someone dead, with gaping holes for eyes and a slack mouth. The figure is atop and integral to a gently tapering, undecorated base. Size: 13.75" W x 21.5" H (34.9 cm x 54.6 cm); 25" H (63.5 cm) on included custom stand.

A carving of this size must have been made to display in a public space, and was used to reinforce common religious and social themes: shamanic transformation to gain the power of the jaguar, and the taking of trophy heads as part of the ritual of human sacrifice. Indeed, trophy heads were a near-universal constant in Mesoamerican imagery for millennia, although by the Classic Maya period it seems likely that the taking of actual trophy heads had (mostly) been replaced symbolically by the ball from the ballgame (as in the Popol Vuh, where a decapitated head is used instead of a rubber ball). For the Preclassic Maya, however, this was likely a real practice that would have been familiar with the people viewing this statue.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex Harmer Rooke, New York, USA

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#132065

Excellent deposits on surface. Weathering to form but many details remain clear.