Producer unknown to us
Jaguar figurine
Americas, Brazil, Araguaya River, Bananal Island
1900–1956
Clay, baked
From the 1950s to the 1970s, Erich Wustmann (ethnologist, author) undertook numerous expeditions and journeys to collect items for museums. He sold the acquired objects to the museums in Leipzig and Dresden.
Purchased by the museum from Wustmann in 1957
SAm 21514
This figurine of a jaguar is made of baked and painted clay. It comes from a modern strain of the production of Ritxoko dolls among the Iny-Karajá. These dolls are also produced for the tourist market and are not limited to human or anthropomorphic figurines, as was the case in the past.
The Iny Karajá community lives in 20 villages along the Araguaya River in central Brazil. Its population is about 3,000. Their language, Inyribe, belongs to the Macro-Gê family of languages. After heavy losses in colonial conflicts in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Iny established lively trade relations with Brazil, which promoted a steady acculturation. The female ceramists (ceramistas) were highly respected in the communities for their wealth of knowledge. This included knowledge about the “Ritxoko,” dolls that convey knowledge about what it means to be an Iny-Karajá, with references to their gender roles, social traditions, and worldview.
Ethnologist and author Erich Wustmann (1907–1994) acquired the figurine during his research trips in the 1950s.
Frank Usbeck