Pre-Columbian, Caribbean area, perhaps Dominican Republic, Taino (Arawak) Indians, ca. 1000 to 1500 CE. What a find! A magnificent stone 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 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 legs , each with toes and ankles. He dramatically projects his head forward, stretching open his enormous mouth as though letting out a sonorous screech. The creature's stylized visage exhibits traditional attributes of a zemi or ancestral spirit figure with huge, sunken eyes, a pointed nose, and spool-adorned ears. 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, neck, and body. Size: 19.1" L x 8.3" W x 3.7" H (48.5 cm x 21.1 cm x 9.4 cm)

Taino art is comprised of many cult objects associated with the worship of "zemis." The term zemi refers to deities, ancestors, or earth spirits. Zemis like this example are believed to be inhabited by powerful spirits. Owners of zemi figures traditionally honored them with offerings of food or precious gifts. Each Zemi had its own identity and name, personality, and powers. These intriguing figures were also used for stands, reliquaries, and personal adornment, with many serving as implements in ceremonies involving a vegetal entheogen known as cohoba - a hallucinogenic powder or paste that was inhaled through snuff tubes.

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 Florida, USA collection; ex-Mr. Pierre Fayet collection, France; ex-Mr. Philippe Bringuier collection, France

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Legs are slightly uneven causing minor wobble, but still steadily stands independently of support. Some natural, stable fissures to stone, as well as light nicks and abrasions commensurate with age. Otherwise, intact and excellent with great preservation of detail and earthen encrustations in recessed areas.