Catuaba is a medium-sized tree found in the Amazon forest in the northern part of Brazil. In Brazilian herbal medicine, catuaba bark is considered a central nervous system stimulant with aphrodisiac properties and a bark decoction is used for nervousness, poor memory, and sexual weakness.
The statue is located on the peak of the 700 metre tall Mount Corcovado, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The statue was created by French Sculptor Paul Landowski and built by the Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa, in collaboration with the French engineer Albert Caquot.
Scientists at the University of Bordeaux in France determined that it was made of stucco and said the statue's luster also suggests the use of alabaster, a form of gypsum quarried near Volterra, which was in Florentine territory during the 16th Century, when Michelangelo sculpted David..