Description:

Pre-Columbian, coastal Peru, Chimu, ca. 1000 to 1400 CE. Although the Chimu are often better known for their metalwork and their pottery, as this box shows, they also had skill as woodworkers. The box is inlaid with multicolored shells -- mostly purples, but with some reds and yellows as well. Decorations on the box include wave and other geometric designs around its edges, and then repeated profile-view animalistic figures with large headdresses in the center and on the lid. These animal figures appear to be playing a flute or some other kind of wind instrument; music was hugely important to Chimu culture and was often associated with death rituals. Size: 10"L x 5"W x 6"H (25.4 x 12.7 x 15.2 cm).

Provenance: Ex-private NYC, NY collection acquired at Arte Primitivo Gallery, ex-Sotheby's.

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#110052

  • Condition: Minor losses to lid, a few split areas, but remarkably intact!

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November 5, 2015 8:00 AM MST
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,000
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $25,000