Description:

Pre-Columbian, Central Coast Peru, Chimu, ca. 1100 to 1470 CE. A fine hand-carved wooden post used on a litter. The slender rectangular body boasts seven square insertion cavities, a lightly-pointed tip on the bottom, and an hourglass-shaped platform on the top which is surmounted by a highly-stylized jaguar finial. The feline figure is shown laying with four powerful legs tucked beneath its stocky body, a thick tail curled atop the posterior, and a rectangular head boasting bulging eyes and gnashing teeth. Lovely brown patina covers this fine example from ancient Peru. Size: 1.375" W x 29.6" H (3.5 cm x 75.2 cm); 34.4" H (87.4 cm) on included custom stand.

In the Chimu and earlier Chancay cultures, important personages were carried on litters when they were both alive and dead - mummies were often brought out on litters for important rituals or ceremonies. Some funerary pottery shows important personages on litters, being carried by four pallbearers.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-private Hans Juergen Westermann collection, Germany, collected from 1950s to 1960s

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#146463

  • Condition: Minor abrasions and nicks to body and finial, with a few stable hairline fissures, and light softening to some finer details, otherwise intact and very good. Light earthen deposits as well as fine brown patina throughout.

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August 13, 2020 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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