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LOT 0030

Chavin Bone Spatula with Flying Shaman

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Pre-Columbian, Peru, Chavin, ca. 1200 to 500 BCE. An incredibly rare bone spatula depicting an anthropomorphic figure in the act of using an inhalation tube to ingest hallucinogenic drugs. The artwork on the spatula is excellent, detailed and with cinnabar pigment coloring the incised lines. The figure holds a tube connected to a bulbous spoon at one end; at the other it is inserted into his nose. His teeth are clenched and what we can see of his eye is huge and opened wide. His hands and feet are carefully depicted, as is the item he wears around his neck. The rest of the bone is undecorated, tapering to a rounded end. Fascinatingly, this is one of the very few images of inhaling hallucinogens that we have from this culture, similar to the artwork of the famous Raimondi Stele. Size: 2" W x 12" H (5.1 cm x 30.5 cm); 12.5" H (31.8 cm) on included custom stand.

The Chavin people lived in the northern Highland Andes, and their capital, Chavin de Huantar, is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. The artwork of Chavin represents the first widespread style in the Andes. The center of Chavin de Huantar is a massive, flat-topped pyramid, surrounded by lower platforms. Between 1200 and 500 BCE the pyramid space was used for religious ceremonies. The Old Temple, constructed very early in the history of the site, consists of a series of passageways built around a circular courtyard; within were carved stone monuments showing jaguars, serpents, and other figures with transformative and/or anthropomorphic figures. At the very center is a towering stone stela depicting an anthropomorphic figure with a jaguar head and a human body, believed to be Lanzon, the chief deity of Chavin. Researchers believe that worshippers ingested hallucinogenic drugs, in part using sptaulas like this one, and then were led in the dark through the labyrinthine passageways before entering the central courtyard and coming abruptly face-to-face with the snarling features of the god.

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

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#148450
Condition Report: Losses to upper and lower ends as shown. Item is fragile and has encrustations on surface. It has been repaired in the middle and at the narrow end. Motifs are excellently preserved.

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Time, Location
14 Nov 2019
USA, Louisville, KY
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[ translate ]

Pre-Columbian, Peru, Chavin, ca. 1200 to 500 BCE. An incredibly rare bone spatula depicting an anthropomorphic figure in the act of using an inhalation tube to ingest hallucinogenic drugs. The artwork on the spatula is excellent, detailed and with cinnabar pigment coloring the incised lines. The figure holds a tube connected to a bulbous spoon at one end; at the other it is inserted into his nose. His teeth are clenched and what we can see of his eye is huge and opened wide. His hands and feet are carefully depicted, as is the item he wears around his neck. The rest of the bone is undecorated, tapering to a rounded end. Fascinatingly, this is one of the very few images of inhaling hallucinogens that we have from this culture, similar to the artwork of the famous Raimondi Stele. Size: 2" W x 12" H (5.1 cm x 30.5 cm); 12.5" H (31.8 cm) on included custom stand.

The Chavin people lived in the northern Highland Andes, and their capital, Chavin de Huantar, is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. The artwork of Chavin represents the first widespread style in the Andes. The center of Chavin de Huantar is a massive, flat-topped pyramid, surrounded by lower platforms. Between 1200 and 500 BCE the pyramid space was used for religious ceremonies. The Old Temple, constructed very early in the history of the site, consists of a series of passageways built around a circular courtyard; within were carved stone monuments showing jaguars, serpents, and other figures with transformative and/or anthropomorphic figures. At the very center is a towering stone stela depicting an anthropomorphic figure with a jaguar head and a human body, believed to be Lanzon, the chief deity of Chavin. Researchers believe that worshippers ingested hallucinogenic drugs, in part using sptaulas like this one, and then were led in the dark through the labyrinthine passageways before entering the central courtyard and coming abruptly face-to-face with the snarling features of the god.

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

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#148450
Condition Report: Losses to upper and lower ends as shown. Item is fragile and has encrustations on surface. It has been repaired in the middle and at the narrow end. Motifs are excellently preserved.

[ translate ]
Estimate
Unlock
Time, Location
14 Nov 2019
USA, Louisville, KY
Auction House
Unlock