Description:

Pre-Columbian, northern Chile or Argentina, Mapuche people, ca. 1500 CE. Finely carved from a single piece of hard black basalt and polished to have a smooth surface, a ceremonial scepter known as a "Toki" or "clava" with a stylized anthropomorphi/avian form presenting a round, disc-shaped bird-like body, an anthropomorphic face, and a tubular handle. Although the exact function and meaning of such scepters in not known, they were likely used as symbols of authority. The Mapuche were a fierce people who successfully resisted numerous attempts by the Inca Empire to subjugate them - valiantly fighting the Spaniards for over 300 years. In fact, the Mapuche were so successful at repelling the Spaniards that there were areas of their land untouched by Europeans until late in the 19th century. Size: 10" H (25.4 cm); 12.75" H (32.4 cm) on included custom stand.

Provenance: private southwestern Pennsylvania, USA collection

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#144784

  • Condition: Chip to left side of browline and left side of the lentoid body. Small pitted hole and area of abrasion to right side of handle. Normal surface wear commensurate with age with earthen deposits.

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April 4, 2019 7:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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