Pre-Columbian, Caribbean area, perhaps Dominican Republic, Taino (Arawak) Indians, ca. 1000 to 1500 CE. What a find! A magnificent marble ceremonial stool known as a duho, impressively hand-carved in the form of an otherworldly creature and incised with elaborate, geometric motifs. Rarely carved from stone or marble like this example, duhos were magical seats believed to take their owners travelling between worlds and grant them the power of prophecy! The reptilian zoomorph stands upon 4 short yet sturdy legs, each with toes and ankles, and displays clearly delineated male genitalia on its underside. He dramatically projects his head forward, stretching open his enormous mouth as though letting out a sonorous screech. His stylized visage exhibits huge, sunken eyes, an anthropomorphic nose, and openwork ears with annular earspools. The elongated, flattened body is slightly recessed on the top to serve as the seat. Intricately incised designs of nested triangular and spiral patterns adorn the head and body. Size: 19.5" L x 8.2" W x 5.3" H (49.5 cm x 20.8 cm x 13.5 cm)

According to the A History of the World in 100 Objects website, a joint project of BBC Radio 4 and the British Museum: "The Taino people believed that they lived in parallel with an invisible world of ancestors and gods, from whom their leaders could seek knowledge of the future. A duho would be owned only by the most important members of a community, and it was the vital means of getting through to the realm of the spirits. It was in one sense a throne, but it was also a portal, and a vehicle to the supernatural world….This is a seat for a leader, for the chief of a village or a region. Taino leaders were both male and female, and the duho embodied their social, political and religious power, and it was crucial to the functioning of their society. We know that in at least one instance a leader was buried sitting on his duho."

Cf. National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, accession number 001534, Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, catalog number 23/6092, and Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, object number 16-24-30/C7504.

Provenance: private Roberts collection, Gainesville, Florida, USA, acquired before 1990; ex-Alfredo Carrada collection, New York, USA; ex-Alexander Rood collection

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#174310

A few minor chips to periphery, as well as some small nicks and abrasions, all commensurate with age. Natural inclusion to stone that stretches vertically down each side of seat. Otherwise, intact and excellent with nicely preserved incised detail and light earthen deposits.