Votive Figure

Pre-Columbian; resembles figures from the Jama-Coaque culture, which developed on the Ecuadorian coast between Cape San Francisco and the Bay of Caráquez (c. 500 B.C.E.-1531 C.E.).

Hand-moulded clay votive figure. Symbolically anthropomorphic, this ithyphallic figure has the rat-like head of an animal, hooves, and an upright human body. Its ears, or antlers, are disproportionately large, and the right one has been broken. A large collar with a simple incised pattern adorns the creature's neck, and this pattern continues part way down the torso. The round eyes, legs, and phallus appear to have been added separately.