Description:

Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Chavin, ca. 1200 to 500 BCE. An exceedingly fine gold tablet hammered out of 22 karat river gold nuggets, with iconographically rich borders featuring numerous anthropomorphic figures on either side in relief, covered in red cinnabar, the red hue perhaps representing sacrificial blood. The figures are delineated in a characteristic schematic manner, wonderfully abstract yet still conveying animation and great spiritual life! Liberally covered with root marks attesting to the passage of time. Custom stand. Size: piece itself measures 4" W x 7.5" H (10.2 cm x 19 cm)

Trays for spreading powder-form hallucinogenic substances along with tools such as inhalation tubes, spatulas, mortars and pestles, and other items for the ingestion of snuff have been found in ancient burial sites in the Americas. Mixtures prepared from resin, leaves, and ground seeds, were used in part to induce a hallucinogenic state for shamanic ritual. Scholars believe that the faces depicted on these implements typically depicted deities and animals associated with the ritual of drug use in order to connect to the gods.

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

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#123909

  • Condition: Some expected bending commensurate with age. Tiny pierced mark at lower center. Covered with root marks.

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

Artemis Fine Arts

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