Pre-Columbian, Caribbean, perhaps Dominican Republic, Taino (Arawak) Indians, ca. 1000 to 1500 CE. A hand-carved stone head of highly stylized form depicting the head of a female, perhaps the goddess Atabay. The heart-shaped countenance presents with concentric circle eyes, a slender nose with large nostrils, full lips, and an abstract third 'eye' - perhaps representing a hurricane - centered on the brow. Perhaps a ceremonial pounder or a religious implement, this anthropomorphic head perhaps served a variety of ritualistic functions. Size: 3.25" L x 3.7" W x 4.25" H (8.3 cm x 9.4 cm x 10.8 cm)

This piece was from a pre-1970 Taino collection, and many of the pieces in the collection were on public display at the Museum of Native American History in Bentonville Arkansas from November 2016 to March 2019. Most of the artifacts came from Wilfred Belmar; born in the Dominican Republic, he began finding and collecting artefacts as a child through the 1930s and 1940s. This collection has been vetted by Dr. William F. Keegan, chairman and curator of the Anthropology Department of Natural History at the Florida Museum of Natural History, Associate Director for Research and Collections, professor of Anthropology and Curator of Latin American Studies at the University of Florida, and author of "Talking Taino" published 2008 and "The Oxford Handbook of Caribbean Archaeology" published in 2013. In 2015 he studied this collection and was quite impressed with the quality of the pieces. The pieces were also studied by Dr. John F. Scott, Professor Emeritus, Professor of Art History at the University of Florida and publisher of the textbooks: "Latin American Art: Ancient and Modern," "The Art of the Taino of the Dominican Republic" in 1985, and the 1970 Metropolitan Museum of Art catalog "Before Cortes."

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

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#174552

Minor abrasions commensurate with age, with areas of roughness along the verso, otherwise intact and very good. Great surface texture and preservation to face. Handwritten label reads "Atabay" on verso.