Art of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
Art of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
Property from an American Private Collection
Lot Closed
May 18, 07:46 PM GMT
Estimate
35,000 - 45,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Property from an American Private Collection
Olmec Stone Bird Monster Transformation Figure
Middle Preclassic Period, circa 900 - 300 BC
Height: 3 1/4 in (8.3 cm)
This small, dynamic figure embodies the transformation of a human into a bird-man shaman. The bird-man figure characteristically shows raptorial avian and feline attributes. The characteristic single feather plume of the Bird Monster deity rises up the center of the head in an expanding curl, and the feline's fangs dominate the wide-open mouth. He is firmly poised in the ritual posture, with a compact, robust body, rounded belly, and short raised arms with the remaining hand clasped in a fist.
His large head tapers to a pointed chin, the heavy-lidded brows sweep upward from the deeply recessed eyes which are framed by swelling lower lids. The back of the head is smooth-shaven on top, indicative of the transformation, with the lower half retaining the striated coiffure. The well-defined nose shows drilled nostrils with sacred red cinnabar remaining within, and the ears are finely drilled.