*Métate cérémoniel

representing a Jaguar The stylized body of the animal serves as a quadrangular and concave tray, the perimeter of which is decorated with engraved motifs. The head and the three angular feet are decorated with openwork interlacing. The eyes are engraved in almond shape. The wide, flattened muzzle is delicately incised and decorated with chevrons. The open mouth, with its square jaw, reveals the characteristic fangs of the jaguar. The neck of the feline is framed by two possums leaning on their hind legs. They are recognizable by their long tails resting on their backs. On the jaguar's ears, two small felines can be seen firmly clutched. Brown Trachyandesite Guanacaste - Nicoya, Costa Rica, 300 - 700 AD 40.2 x 43 x 108 cm Provenance: - Former Robert Vergnes collection since 1966 - Former Alexandre Bernand collection, 2010 The metate is a flat, rectangular or round stone, whose surface is slightly concave. Its name comes from the Nahuatl metatl. It is a monolithic grinding stone that uses the force of the body with a pestle (mano). The part that remains immobile during the grinding operation is called a dormant millstone. Of volcanic origin and most often made of basalt, they can be apodal, tripodal and sometimes tetrapodal. It is above all a utilitarian object that has been used essentially for grinding for thousands of years (1300 BC) in Mesoamerica. The simplest ones had a utilitarian function to transform dried corn into flour and other products like nuts, seeds, salt, cocoa and pigments. Others, often richly decorated and more imposing, were reserved for shamanic rituals and used for the preparation of hallucinogenic plants. A sacred and emblematic animal, the jaguar is predominant here as it is on the example kept at the Banco Nacional de Costa Rica. According to Costa Rican beliefs, at nightfall, the Sun metamorphoses into a jaguar in order to continue its cycle from west to east, before resuming its place in the heavens at dawn. Broken and glued in two on the tray *This lot is presented in temporary importation