Thrift find Lamps #1 - chrome(?) Aztec/Mayan amputee that used to be a bank?

I found some cool lamps at a local thrift store (no art this time!), one of which is this piece; ANY thoughts or information would be greatly appreciated!

It appears to be made of chrome or chrome like material & also appears to be Mayan or Aztec? What I haven't seen before (and google image search didn't turn up anything) is why they made it look like a quadruple amputee?!
It also has a slot in it's head like it was or is a bank?
PS - If you look at the close up of the tube/bar that attaches light to the figure you can see it was done with old slot screws - so it has some age, right?

Again, any help or thoughts (what do I call it?) would be greatly appreciated.

 

That is absolutely gobsmacking. Never seen anything like it. (And I'd call it "bad taste.")

Debora

 

It is based on Nayarit pre-Columbian terracottas. Not an amputee, that is the style.

As for the thing itself: I am speechless.

 

Well I am not going to call it terrible - but I may be able to work in speechless & possibly gob smacked!

 

It's...striking. That's a polite word. Striking.

 

Think this is a one-off homemade piece. I might try disconnecting the figure from the base to see if it really is a bank.

 

Kool & Weird MCM Tiki madness ! The crazier the better when it comes to moderne Beatnik Hipsters.

 

As you asked for opinions…not my cup of tea.

I bought a book about the Mayan revival style that was popular in the 1920s. This doesn’t resemble anything I’ve seen from that era. I concur with others that this is likely homemade.

 

I think it’s oddly cool in a certain way.

 

JMag-Add that it's 'possibly' cursed or haunted in your listing,it'll get em excited-Ebaying at the moon & flashin' cash into yer sacrificial coffer.

 

Maybe originally it had a feathered plume?

 

Slot on head looks like a coin bank?

 

Yeah, it does, but it's not as precise as you might expect of a coin slot, and I'm just saying it's not necessarily that. It might have another function, such as providing anchorage for some missing bit not part of the casting. But it could be a coin slot.

 

Journey I can always count on your posts to surprise me. This one might take the grand prize for "not what I was expecting".

It's the most bizarre lamp I've ever seen.

Not in my personal taste, but there seems to be some genuine work in it. The base piece of wood looks substantial and from above it almost looks like it is carved into a giant puzzle piece. There had to be some real effort creating the chrome part. I'm thinking some artist's work, maybe something out of a movie set?? Someone who does really unusual stuff. Wowza.

I wonder what the shade looked like.

It would make an incredible White Elephant gift.

I hope it turns out to be some famous expensive find!