Description:

Pre-Columbian, Peru, Chavin culture, ca. 1200 to 500 BCE, probably earlier in the period. A very early example of a spoon for use in hallucinogenic drug-taking shamanic rituals, hand-carved from a white and beige shell. The bowl is elongated, and a pyramid like-pattern joins it to the handle, perhaps in reference to Chavin de Huantar, the a massive, flat-topped pyramid at the center of Chavin life. Size: 3.5" W x 1" H (8.9 cm x 2.5 cm)

Between 1200 and 500 BCE the pyramid space was used for religious ceremonies. The Old Temple, constructed very early in the history of the site, consists of a series of passageways built around a circular courtyard; within were carved stone monuments showing jaguars, serpents, and other figures with transformative and/or anthropomorphic figures. At the very center is a towering stone stela depicting an anthropomorphic figure with a jaguar head and a human body, believed to be Lanzon, the chief deity of Chavin. Researchers believe that worshippers ingested hallucinogenic drugs, in part using spoons like this one, and then were led in the dark through the labyrinthine passageways before entering the central courtyard and coming abruptly face-to-face with the snarling features of the god.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-Westermann collection, Germany

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#123837

  • Condition: Wear to surface from age, as shown.

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May 25, 2017 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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