Description:

Pre-Columbian, Caribbean/Florida, Arawak People, Taino, ca. 15th century CE. A fascinating carved stone figure of a highly abstract woman, her body simplified to an ovoid stone carved on one side into a crouching form with raised legs, arms at her incised genitals, small, round breasts, and a large stomach and belly button. Her face is large relative to her body, with deeply excavated eyes and mouth, earrings, and marks on her cheek that may indicate scarification or tattoos. Stone carving of small idol figures, known as zemi, was a major artistic skill of the Taino/Arawak. Women in pre-contact Arawak society could hold wealth, become caciques (political leaders), or even be warriors - indeed, pre-contact Arawak society seems to have had limited divisions of labor by gender. This powerful figure may represent an individual woman or the general concept of womanhood. ( Size: 4.35" W x 7.25" H (11 cm x 18.4 cm)

Provenance: private Long Island, New York, USA collection

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#147402

  • Condition: Weathering and wear on surface commensurate with age. Nice deposits in the lower profile areas.

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July 11, 2019 7:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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