Lot 74
Pre-Columbian, Taino, Hispaniola, ca. 13th to 15th century CE. A powerful stone pestle from the Dominican Republic, its handle finely modeled in the form of a crouching zemi figure, the head resembling a monkey and the body that of a frog. The sculptural form rises from a broad, flattened base to a flaring neck that resolves in the twin-animal visage - the expressive heads peering outward with bulging eyes and compressed snouts, their hybrid anatomy merging the traits of two sacred beings into one embodiment of spiritual potency. To the Taino, such composite creatures were manifestations of the zemi - ancestral spirits and deities that governed fertility, weather, and the cycles of life and death. The frog, associated with water, rain, and regeneration, and the monkey, a symbol of vitality and mischief, together evoke the dual nature of creation and transformation. Pestles of this type were not merely utilitarian tools but ritual instruments, used in the preparation of cohoba (a sacred hallucinogenic snuff) or food offerings within ceremonial contexts. Size: 4.3" L x 2.8" W x 6.8" H (10.9 cm x 7.1 cm x 17.3 cm)
The act of grinding itself may have been viewed as a sacred process, releasing the life-force contained within both substance and stone.
Carved from dense, dark stone, the figure's surface bears the soft sheen of centuries of handling, a testament to its enduring role as both practical and spiritual object. This extraordinary pestle stands as a physical echo of Taino belief - a fusion of the natural and the divine, shaped by hands attuned to the mysteries of the living world.
This piece was published in "Treasures of the Caribbean" by Rodney Hilton Brown (Fairhaven, MA: The War Museum Press, 2023) on page 18.
Provenance: ex-private collection, Fairhaven, Massachusetts, USA, collected from 2010 to 2015
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#198296
- Condition: Nicks, chips, and pitting to surface commensurate with age. Liberal remaining detail and scattered earthen deposits throughout.
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