Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Chavin, ca. 1200 to 500 BCE. A beautiful miniature feline pendant, hand-carved from a chalky white shell and embellished with finely-incised designs. The form depicts a running jaguar, its head turned upwards as if watching its prey, with each stylized leg curled up beneath its streamlined body. Notable to this pendant is the single semicircular eye composed of a crescent-shaped fragment of spondylus shell set above a miniscule lapiz lazuli circle. A sinuous tail extends from the feline's posterior and curls at the end, and a biconically-drilled suspension hole is situated vertically along the verso. A wonderful composition from ancient Peru! Custom museum-quality display stand included. Size: 1.75" L x 0.75" H (4.4 cm x 1.9 cm); 2.625" H (6.7 cm) on included custom stand.

The Chavin people lived in the northern Highland Andes, and their capital, Chavin de Huantar, is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. The artwork of Chavin represents the first widespread style in the Andes. The center of Chavin de Huantar is a massive, flat-topped pyramid, surrounded by lower platforms. Between 1200 and 500 BCE the pyramid space was used for religious ceremonies. The Old Temple, constructed very early in the history of the site, consists of a series of passageways built around a circular courtyard; within were carved stone monuments showing jaguars, serpents, and other figures with transformative and/or anthropomorphic figures. At the very center is a towering stone stela depicting an anthropomorphic figure with a jaguar head and a human body, believed to be Lanzon, the chief deity of Chavin. Researchers believe that worshippers ingested hallucinogenic drugs, in part using spoons like this one, and then were led in the dark through the labyrinthine passageways before entering the central courtyard and coming abruptly face-to-face with the snarling features of the god.

Provenance: private, Hawaii, USA collection; ex-private H. J. Westermann collection, Germany, acquired between 1960 and 1970

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#132537

Age-commensurate surface wear and abrasions, some areas of roughness, and light discoloration, otherwise intact and excellent. Nice earthen deposits throughout.