The artist, Teofilo Santi, created a unique fusion of concepts from Canelos Quichua culture. Shamans sit on stools of power in the shape of the water turtle, believed to be used by Sungui, the first shaman and master of the water domain. Teofilo Santi incorporated the jaguar, recalling Amasanga, the forest shaman, who also sits on a tortose seat of power and is represented as a black jaguar.
Carved from a single log of anise-scented hard wood, it is one of only three jaguar stools carved in this form in existence. wood carving for the ethnic-arts market began in the mid-1970s and provided a source of income for the carvers' families in Ecuador.
This rare jaguar stool from Amazonian Ecuador was donated by Margaret Frampton in April, 2002.
Most of the artifacts in New Acquisitions articles are chosen to allow website visitors to explore artifacts that are not on display in the Museum's galleries. Try searching the database or exploring the Virtual Tour to find artifacts on display.