Manteña Chair Of Power Cachique Of Prehispanic Ecuador

The chair was carved from a block of rock These stone chairs are generally categorized according to the iconographic pattern carved into the seat support, mainly dividing into two groups, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic – or zooanthropomorphic, since they represent variations that combine animal features, generally feline, to the human being – Our chair corresponds to the second type, with a base in the shape of a zoomorphic feline. The feline is depicted crouching, flexing arms and legs, knees and elbows. The upper part of the chair – the “U” shaped seat – is superimposed on the character's back, head and shoulders. The way of placing the seat on the whole body marks the difference between this specimen and others also anthropomorphic, in which said seat is loaded only on the head, by arranging an intermediate element of padding dug between the seat and the back of the figure. As a result, in this case the head remains sunken and sunk between two powerful shoulders that protrude with rounded shapes at the same height as that one In these sculptures more attention has been paid to the face than to the rest of the morphology. of the body, so the figure usually does not keep anatomical proportionality. does not seem to exist nor is it a stable rule when it comes to placing the seat on the figure, some are more back than others on the back of the character supporting it, and the depth of the seat is also quite variable. Of course, what characterizes the seat is the "U" shape, and that most of the chairs have horizontal side extensions at the ends of these arms, forming a right angle. These extensions have been interpreted as armrests. In general, In addition, the shape of the "U" is wider at the base and tapers towards the upper end, as can be seen in the profile of this chair Chairs in the context of the Manteño-Huancavilca culture La Manteño-Huancavilca culture developed on the central-southern coast of Ecuador, between the bay of Caráquez and the island of Puná10, during the period of integration (800-1532 AD). Saville (1907) at the beginning of the 20th century, Jijón y Caamaño (1997), Bushnell (1951) or Emilio Estrada (1957, 1962), among others, describe through some initial archaeological excavations the characteristics that define this culture. In it, two groups are differentiated, the manteños in the north and the huancavilcas in the south, with certain common cultural traits and other particular or differentiating ones. And among the latter precisely the use of carved stone as a characteristic of the Manteños stands out -the northern group–, to whom therefore the so-called chairs belong. To this could be added, characteristic of the north, the iconography of the feline, the abundance of figurines and graters or even the burial compared to the burial in urns, more typical of the huancavilcas. As McEwan (1992: 59) suggests, chairs with feline images correspond to religious power. Title: Chair of power. Object: Ceremonial chair carved in stone, with a 'U' shaped seat, supported by a crouching ZOOMORPHIC figure. Typology: Lithic sculpture. Cultivation: Manteña (Manabi, Ecuador). Chronology: 800-1500 AD. vs. Dimensions: 43X36X23CM Technique: Sculpture on block of stone, sawn with a cord. Use/Function: Ritual, ceremonial. Provenance: Collection Dr. Professor: Udo Oberem (1923-1986) On November 24, 1986, Udo Oberem died suddenly and unexpectedly in Bonn, just before his 63rd birthday. The deceased were a number of professors of ethnology - with particular attention to Americanist Studies ("Alt-Amerikanistik") - at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Bonn and director of the Institute of Cultural Anthropology. Another similar chair can be found at: Musée du Quai Branly Biography: Manteña chairs from pre-Hispanic Ecuador Study, restoration and analysis of a stone chair at the Museum of America Andrés Gutiérrez Usillos (scientific publisher) Museum of America. Ministry of Education, Culture