Colima Spondylus Shell Crocodile Purging Stick Pendant
**Originally Listed At $200**
Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Colima culture, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A vibrant orange hued spondylus shell pendant, hand carved with a curved profile and details to suggest an alligator, crocodile, or caiman. Given its shape, it may have been used by shamans as a purging stick, prompting a literal physical purging as well as a symbolic spiritual purging during certain ceremonies. The pendant is skillfully carved with a pointed snout with a perforation and two round eyes; one is inlaid with a shimmery white piece of shell. The body curves slightly and then ends at a pointed tip. A hand-drilled perforation runs through the neck, and the piece is strung on a modern cord with a silver plated lobster clasp. The Spondylus shell was a sacred mythical shell among various Pre-Columbian cultures carrying numerous symbolic meanings. A symbol of fertility and elite social status, it was also believed to be an omen of rain, warning the indigenous of El Nino. Size (pendant): 4.5" L x 1" W (11.4 cm x 2.5 cm); (cord): 20" L (50.8 cm)
Provenance: private Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA collection; ex-Dr. David Harner collection, Springdale, Arkansas, USA, acquired between the 1950s and 1960s
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.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.
#161388
Condition Report: Natural pitting and ossification of shell. One eye inlay missing. Mineral deposits. Wearable and strung in modern times on a modern cord with a lobster clasp.
View it on
Sale price
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
**Originally Listed At $200**
Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Colima culture, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A vibrant orange hued spondylus shell pendant, hand carved with a curved profile and details to suggest an alligator, crocodile, or caiman. Given its shape, it may have been used by shamans as a purging stick, prompting a literal physical purging as well as a symbolic spiritual purging during certain ceremonies. The pendant is skillfully carved with a pointed snout with a perforation and two round eyes; one is inlaid with a shimmery white piece of shell. The body curves slightly and then ends at a pointed tip. A hand-drilled perforation runs through the neck, and the piece is strung on a modern cord with a silver plated lobster clasp. The Spondylus shell was a sacred mythical shell among various Pre-Columbian cultures carrying numerous symbolic meanings. A symbol of fertility and elite social status, it was also believed to be an omen of rain, warning the indigenous of El Nino. Size (pendant): 4.5" L x 1" W (11.4 cm x 2.5 cm); (cord): 20" L (50.8 cm)
Provenance: private Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA collection; ex-Dr. David Harner collection, Springdale, Arkansas, USA, acquired between the 1950s and 1960s
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.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.
#161388
Condition Report: Natural pitting and ossification of shell. One eye inlay missing. Mineral deposits. Wearable and strung in modern times on a modern cord with a lobster clasp.
Sale price
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
