Deity of the Tumaco-La Tolita culture. Colombia-Ecuador (500 BC- 500 AD)

Deity of the Tumaco-Tolita culture. Colombia-Ecuador (500 BC - 500 AD). Terracotta sculpture. Wooden base. Methacrylate display case. Provenance: Spanish private collection J.J.D, who bought this collection from the Wilson Hallo Gallery in Ecuador, before 1970. With methacrylate urn belonging to an old collection from the 1980s. Measurements: 7 x 4 x 4 cm (figure); 41,5 x 18 x 18 cm (box). Deity belonging to the Tumaco-Tolita culture, spread along the coast, from the area of Esmeralda, in Ecuador (where it was known as tolita), to the region of Tumaco in Colombia. It is a very wooded and humid area, with abundant rainfall and crossed by wide navigable rivers. Pottery was used in the manufacture of everyday utensils as well as sculptures and figurines. They made a large number of ceramic figures: anthropomorphic figures, which display attire and body ornaments (some carry musical instruments, others appear to be sick, have deformed skulls or represent the elderly); zoomorphic figures, which represent a variety of animals (fish, mammals, reptiles, birds, etc.); and hybrid figures, which represent a mixture of animals and humans, one of the most common representations being the jaguar man.