Taino Stone Axe w/ Behique Snake (900-1500 AD)
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Description
Taino Stone Axe w/ Behique Snake (900-1500 AD)
This carved stone axe depicts a Behique (shaman) in a trace state, transforming into a serpent. In New World tropical environments, death and rebirth are seen to be closely related and in a process of constant cycling. As such, the dead and living worlds are both always proximal- it is the behique's special skill and responsibility to mediate these two realms. This dual nature of the behique's situation is symbolically expressed in much Taino art through the collusion of fecund and skeletal motifs. The figure\'s gaping, empty eye sockets, and the grimacing mouth also symbolically mark his heightened state of consciousness, between the otherworld of ancestor and deity spirits and the physical realm of his clients. (excerpts from Walters Art Museum literature)
- Taino Culture
- 900-1500 AD
- Mesoamerica
- Stone - L: 12 in.
- From a Private New York Collection.
Each item will include a certificate of authenticity.
This carved stone axe depicts a Behique (shaman) in a trace state, transforming into a serpent. In New World tropical environments, death and rebirth are seen to be closely related and in a process of constant cycling. As such, the dead and living worlds are both always proximal- it is the behique's special skill and responsibility to mediate these two realms. This dual nature of the behique's situation is symbolically expressed in much Taino art through the collusion of fecund and skeletal motifs. The figure\'s gaping, empty eye sockets, and the grimacing mouth also symbolically mark his heightened state of consciousness, between the otherworld of ancestor and deity spirits and the physical realm of his clients. (excerpts from Walters Art Museum literature)
- Taino Culture
- 900-1500 AD
- Mesoamerica
- Stone - L: 12 in.
- From a Private New York Collection.
Each item will include a certificate of authenticity.
Condition
Perfect!
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Taino Stone Axe w/ Behique Snake (900-1500 AD)
Estimate $4,000 - $5,000
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