Description:

Pre-Columbian, Peru (south coast), Nazca culture, ca. 100 BCE to 800 CE. A hand-carved wooden tube for use when ingesting snuff, in the form of a highly abstract sea turtle with notched legs and a rounded head made from highly polished camelid bone. This "head" is the handle of the wooden pin that fits neatly into the "body" of the turtle. This item was part of the drug paraphernalia employed by many people in the Atacama Desert region of ancient Chile. Wooden spatulas like this one are found in burials alongside tubes for inhaling, snuff trays, mortars and pestles, and other items for the ingestion of snuff. The mixture, prepared from resin, leaves, and ground seeds, was used in part to induce a hallucinogenic state for shamanic ritual. Size: 1.2" W x 5.05" H (3 cm x 12.8 cm); 6.25" H (15.9 cm) on included custom stand.

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

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#145269

  • Condition: Some of the wood is partially lost at the top, notably around the upper arms of the turtle. Both wood and bone have rich patinas and the bone/pin has good movement and can be removed.

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

Artemis Fine Arts

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