Originally listed at $3,500...

Pre-Columbian, Caribbean / Florida, Taino people, ca. 15th to early 17th century CE. An astounding carved wood spatula known as a vomitivo or vomit stick - a key part of the hallucinogenic cohoba ritual - exhibiting a lengthy shaft and a finial in the form of a nude acrobatic figure, likely a shaman. Portrayed as though under the influence of cohoba, the evocative figure exhibits a huge gaping mouth, a bulbous nose, and sizable, sunken eyes, all crowned by a striated coiffure or headdress and flanked by protruding ears with annular adornments. The flexibility of his pose is remarkable - he balances on his chest while lifting his legs upward behind him to place both feet on his head. His emaciated body displays a prominent ribcage, an erect phallus, and incised armbands as he puts his left hand in his mouth, as though spellbound by the spiritual experience of the cohoba. Size: 2.1" W x 23.8" H (5.3 cm x 60.5 cm); 24.2" H (61.5 cm) on included custom stand.

Taino spirituality, which focused on the spirit of the ancestors and the god of the cassava, their primary crop, was mediated by a class of priests (bohiques), who often engaged in the taking of hallucinogenic drugs to aid in rituals and ceremonies. The cohoba ritual required this type of special object, designed to induce vomiting to help a shaman purge themselves - this, coupled with fasting, allowed the shamans to have the most pure high from the cohoba powder. Thus, shamans are often depicted as skeletal figures. This imagery may also be designed to show a shaman breaching the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead.

According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, " Taino sculptors created another class of objects created figural and abstract imagery for use in ceremonies, known variably as spoons, spatulas, vomitivos, or "vomit sticks." Artists featured zoomorphic or anthropomorphic figures on these ritual implements, imbuing them with identities that featured prominently in their use in purging and fasting. Such activities induced weakened physical state and mental confusion, and combined with ritual use of a vegetal entheogen known as cohoba, formed integral parts of rituals performed by specialist healers known as behique (or bohite or buhuittihu)."

This piece was exhibited in the Museum of Native American History in Bentonville, Arkansas from February 1st, 2017 to 2019 as part of the "Coming to America - The Taino" exhibit. Additionally, the piece was published in "Essex Collection of Fine Taino Artifacts Now on Exhibit at MOHAH" by Jill Rohrbach on Arkansas the Natural State's website in February 2017.

This piece has been tested using radiocarbon dating (C-14) analysis and has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full report will accompany purchase.

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

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#174556

Expected wear with some nicks, abrasions, and stable fissures. Great signs of age throughout. Otherwise, intact and excellent with nice patina and impressively preserved details. C14 hole under proper right arm.