Nicoya Female Figure on Feline
2018 © Maxim Tabachnik
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Nicoya Female Figure on Feline

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This Nicoya ceramic sculpture (800–1350) depicts a seated woman holding a bowl and riding a feline, likely a jaguar. The pierced torso and stylized paint highlight symbolic roles in fertility and ritual. Jaguars were linked to shamanic power and the underworld, reinforcing the figure’s spiritual authority.