Description:

Pre-Columbian, Huari/Wari culture, Peru, ca. 6th to 9th century CE. A ritual spoon carved from dark wood, in excellent condition for a wood item of this age. The handle is in the form of a standing lord who wears a tall headdress. The head is inlaid with white shell eyes with turquoise irises, which stare outward at the viewer. The hands are clasped in front of the body, holding a kero (quero, qero), a ritual cup for drinking chicha. Spoons like this one were part of the elaborate battery of objects carefully manufactured by ancient Andeans in order to ingest a ground drug known as vilca or huilca, found in southern Peru and Bolivia, and obtained from the beans of the tree Anadenanthera colubrina. We know of them from burials, where they were placed as offerings and perhaps to provision the dead alongside inhalation tubes and other paraphernalia. Size: 1.7" W x 6.2" H (4.3 cm x 15.7 cm)

Provenance: private Probst collection, Monterey, California, USA, acquired in the mid-1970s

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#145023

  • Condition: Intact, with rich patina on surface. Light deposits on eyes. Wear commensurate with age.

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

Artemis Fine Arts

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