Slingshot – Ceremonial Jaguar – Guatemala, Highlands, 1950s

Carefully and skillfully carved, this slingshot depicts a jaguar sitting on its haunches. Its head is raised, its mouth open, while the animal holds a small receptacle between its paws, as if in a gesture of offering or ritual consumption. The composition, both naturalistic and symbolic, emphasizes the feline's calm power. Wood with a reddish patina, signs of use. Guatemala, highland region. Dimensions: 14.5 × 4.2 cm * Shipping costs upon request "In Mayan traditions, the jaguar is a major figure: an animal of power, linked to the night, to telluric forces and to ritual spheres. This folk sculpture extends, with strong iconographic coherence, fundamental themes of pre-Columbian America. In the highlands of Guatemala, despite Christianization, some of the ancient images and symbols have been preserved in everyday objects, where the feline remains a sign of strength, protection and a connection to the sacred."