Description:

Pre-Columbian, Chile, Proto-Nazca culture, ca. 500 BCE to 1 BCE. A dark wood snuff tray or tablet, quite large for the type, with an anthropomorphic face with fantastic turquoise inlaid discs forming its eyes. The tablet is in the form of a shallow, rectangular bowl with a long, raised handle with the face projecting from its base. The face is part of trophy head imagery, which is very common on this style of artifact. Size: 3" W x 9.5" H (7.6 cm x 24.1 cm)

This item represented the drug paraphernalia employed by many people in the Atacama Desert region of ancient Chile. Wooden snuff trays like this one are found in burials alongside tubes for inhaling, spatulas, 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.

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

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#123551

  • Condition: Dark patina on wood from touch and age; very small surface cracks and damage but generally in very good condition.

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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