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Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
Anthropomorphic Feline Forest Spirit (possibly Boraro)
Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
© Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami. All rights reserved.

Anthropomorphic Feline Forest Spirit (possibly Boraro)

Artist/Maker (Ecuador)
Date300 BCE-200 CE
Mediumpottery and paint
DimensionsOverall: 10 3/8 x 7 x 6 3/8 in. (26.4 x 17.8 x 16.2 cm)
ClassificationsVisual Works
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Bischoff
Terms
    Object number84.0243.01
    DescriptionThis figure represents a wonderfully energetic and symmetrical feline in slightly anthropomorphic stance. The jaguar symbolizes the male force in nature to the Indians of the Amazonian lowlands of Colombia. It is the most important figure in the mythology of the La Tolita culture. The sculptor has turned the forelegs of this example to expose the underside of the paws making the claws more visible. Under the influence of such hallucinogens as ayahuasca, shamans would assume the identity of the jaguar who was regarded as the messenger between the sacred and secular worlds. To the Desana Indians of northern Colombia, an anthropomorphized, fanged jaguar with erect phallus fits the description of a mythical monstrous man-like forest spirit known as the Boraro (G. Reichel Dolmatoff, 1975).
    On View
    Not on view
    Collections
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Anthropomorphic Feline Forest Spirit
    Tumaco-La Tolita
    300 BCE-200 CE
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Portrait of Tulcee (Julcee) Mathla, A Seminole Chief
    Charles Bird King
    1826
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Guanyin, Goddess of Mercy
    17th century
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Jar
    Chorrera
    1100-300 BCE
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Pectoral Ornament
    Gran Coclé
    ca. 1000-1550
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Ornament
    Diquis
    ca. 700-1550
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Urn
    Maya (archaeological culture)
    ca. 300-600
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Crown
    Moche
    100-800
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Figure
    Jama-Coaque
    200 BCE-600 CE
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Jar
    Calima
    300-1300
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Jar
    Greater Nicoya
    ca. 1000-1350
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Bowl
    Maya (archaeological culture)
    ca. 600-900
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