Description:

Pre-Columbian, Peru, Nazca culture, ca. 100 BCE to 800 CE. A delightful pair of long, rectangular camelid bone beams used for weighing feathers, each drilled through horizontally and each with a string of carefully cut-out animals along its top. The shorter one is also drilled through vertically at its center. Along one is a row of long-beaked birds standing with their heads up. Along the other is a row of squirrels or similar animals, their large tails flowing into the noses of the animal behind them. The repeated animal forms recall the tessellation-like motifs of Nazca textiles. The surfaces of each are repeatedly stamped with concentric circles, forming the eyes of each animal and demarcating the weight reading on the lower part of each. Size of largest: 4.75" W x 0.5" H (12.1 cm x 1.3 cm); 2.9" H (7.4 cm) on included custom stand.

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

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#144578

  • Condition: One tiny figure has been repaired on the longer of the two. The other is intact. Both have rich patina and excellent preservation of motifs.

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July 25, 2019 7:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
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