Maya Jaguar

'I like making jaguar heads because they remind me of my Maya ancestors. To them the jaguars protected the fields and mountains. They regarded the jaguar as a deity who they honored at the beginning of a harvest,' says Jose Canil Ramos. According to Maya cosmogony, the jaguar is represented by the Ix day of the Maya calendar. It symbolizes strength and vigor, as well as feminine and feline energies. Canil carves the sculpture by hand from pinewood and paints it with extraordinary artistry. Before finishing the piece he applies a mixture of soot and water to achieve an antique and weathered illusion.