Anthropo-zoomorphic figure

The Olmec style, initially thought to be the artistic expression of a “mother culture” on the southern coast of the Golf of Mexico, was later identified in various other regions of Mesoamerica, from the centre of Mexico as far as Salvador. The widespread presence of this style, along with its recurring motifs, reflects an ideological system shared by a number of Mesoamerican peoples between 1200 and 600 BC. Although humans are the main theme depicted, Olmec art is also rich with animal or hybrid figures.This figurine endows the human body with the attributes of a jaguar – its legs, mouth, incisors, muzzle and almond eyes – and wears the ear jewellery of a high-ranking individual. Interpretations of such hybrid beings are varied. According to the most recent, these compositions represent places of sacred geography, supernatural forces or their mythical counterparts. Countless iconographic examples link the jaguar with caves, the underground world, and fertility, which is renewed there. The green stone, coated in cinnabar, could also allude to vegetal regeneration.