  We report on the discovery of a stellar system in the background of the
Galactic globular cluster 47 Tucanae (NGC 104), located 14.8' North-West of the
cluster center. The object, whose apparent diameter is D~30'', is partially
resolved into stars on the available CCD images, reaching a limiting magnitude
of V~22.5, and is detected as a significant (more than 5 sigma) overdensity of
blue stars (B-V<0.7). The color magnitude diagram of the system, its
characteristic projected size and its position in the sky suggest that it is an
intermediate-old age cluster belonging to the Small Magellanic Cloud, whose
outskirts lie in the background of 47 Tuc. Although less likely, the
possibility that the object is an unknown dwarf galaxy in the outskirts of the
Local Group cannot completely be ruled out by the present data.
