Pre-Hispanic Ecuadorian Chair of Power

The chair has been carved from a block of detrital sedimentary rock, in which fossil remains can be seen. It is a calcarenite or dark brownish-yellow, porous, coarse-grained calcareous sandstone. These stone chairs are usually classified according to the iconographic motif carved in the support of the seat, dividing mainly into two groups, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic –or zooanthropomorphic, since they represent variations that combine animal traits, generally felines, with the human being– Our chair corresponds to the second type, with a pedestal in the shape of a zoomorphic feline. The feline is represented crouching, flexing arms and legs knees and elbows.

The upper part of the chair – the ‘U’ shaped seat – is superimposed on the back, head and shoulders of the figure. The way to place the seat on the full body marks the difference between this specimen and others also anthropomorphic, in which said seat is load only on the head, arranging an intermediate padding element carved between the seat and back of the figure. As a consequence, in this case the head remains embedded and sunk between two powerful shoulders that protrude with rounded shapes at the same height than 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 does not usually 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 that supports 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 lateral 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 narrows towards the upper end, as can be seen in the profile of this chair

Title: Chair of power. Object: Ceremonial chair carved in sandstone, with a 'U'-shaped seat, supported by a crouching ZOOMORPHIC figure. Typology: Lithic sculpture. Culture: Manteña (Manabi, Ecuador). Dimensions: 38X38X20CM Technique: Carving on stone block, sawn with cord. Material: Mixed sandstone, of medium and coarse sand, with inclusions of bioclast shells Use/Function: Ritual, ceremonial. Provenance: Collection Dr. Professor: Udo Oberem (1923-1986)