Description:

Pre-Columbian, Ecuador, Manabi culture, ca. 500 BCE and 500 CE. A striking necklace comprised of 42 ceramic spindle whorls strung together in a double-strand via rose colored S-lon macrame cord with strong and attractive macrame knots and a blonde wooden button clasp. Each spindle whorl is incised with a unique motif - most representing skillfully delineated seabirds but there are also two other creatures - perhaps a vischacha (also vizcacha, a rodent that resembles a rabbit with long ears) and another that resembles either a stylized jaguar or a Guayaquil squirrel - in elegant black and white. Spindle whorls were not just utilitarian items to the ancients of the Americas. Beautiful textiles were an important element of elite and ceremonial costume, and the importance of whorls as tools to create them is demonstrated by ritual deposits. These were cherished objects, not to be discarded, but rather safeguarded and interred with veneration. Size: 22" L (55.9 cm); spindle whorls measure ~ .625" in diameter (1.6 cm)

Provenance: private Colorado, USA collection

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#144481

  • Condition: Spindle whorls are ancient. S-lon macrame cord and button are modern. Some age wear to the spindle whorls, but overall the spindle whorls are remarkably well preserved.

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July 25, 2019 7:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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