Description:

Pre-Columbian, Peru, Paracas culture, ca. 500 to 100 BCE. With incredible well-preserved fibers, this is a delicate scale for weighing coca leaves. Two open, woven baskets dangle from a long, openwork carved bone which has a woven string to suspend it and allow the scale to function. The woven baskets are pale brown and dark green. The bone has been shaped to resemble a pattern of six avian heads with stepped projections from the back of their heads that call to mind feathers and the steps of a pyramid. Comes with a custom stand. Size: 5" W (12.7 cm)

From the earliest times, people in the Andes had a tradition of using coca leaves for ritual purposes. They were ingested by placing some of the leaves in the mouth and adding a small quantity of powdered lime, ground from seashells. This scale was part of their drug paraphernalia. Items like it are found in burials alongside trays for spreading powder, spatulas, mortars and pestles, and various other items. Drugs were used to induce a hallucinogenic state so that a shaman could travel between the worlds of human and animal and living and dead.

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

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#123903

  • Condition: Textiles are fragile. Patina from wear and handling on the bone.

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

Artemis Fine Arts

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$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