Pre-Columbian, Caribbean Islands, Taino people, ca. 1000 to 1500 CE. A hand-carved stone pestle with a dense, egg-shaped body surmounted by the head of a mythological deity known as a zemi. It is possible that this pestle was used to create Cohoba powder that is traditionally inhaled by a shaman to produce hallucinogenic effects and visions during a ritual that the Taino interpret as apparitions of spirits who deliver important messages. Size: 2.7" W x 5.4" H (6.9 cm x 13.7 cm)

Taino spirituality revolved around ancestor and spirit worship via carved stone figures called "zemis" that embodied the spirits and deity figures the Taino venerated. In Taino culture death was considered a transitory period; the boundaries between life and death seem to have felt more porous to the Taino than they do to us today. Owls, as nocturnal hunters, represented the underworld and thought to carry opias (hupias) - the spirits of the recently deceased - to the next stage of existence and these bird's hoots and screeches were omens believed to announce impending death or the arrival of spirits from the beyond. Shamans communicated with owls during rituals to coax the opias of the seriously ill or recently deceased, back to their bodies.

Provenance: Private J. Hart Collection, Houston, Texas, USA, acquired mid-1970's

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#174544

Minor abrasions and light earthen deposits commensurate with age, with small nicks in scattered areas, otherwise intact and excellent. Great surface texture and preservation to overall form. Handwritten inventory number beneath base.