**First Time At Auction**
Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Chavin / Cupisnique, ca. 900 to 500 BCE. A fantastical stone metate or mortar stone, carved into a standing zoomorph with heads projecting from both ends. The creatures are simplified to raised eyes and grinning mouth with square teeth - the inclusion of teeth suggest a fierce animal such as a jaguar or amphibian hybrid. Hybrid animals and transformation were part of the vibrant iconography of Chavin de Huantar temple. The basin is shallow and worn from use to grind or pulverize plant matter for other substances. The effort put into shaping a simple vessel / tool into a effigy indicates ritualistic use, perhaps grinding hallucinogens for a ceremony or pigments for anointment. Size: 12" L x 5" W x 7" H (30.5 cm x 12.7 cm x 17.8 cm)
The relationship between the Chavin culture and the Cupisnique culture is not well understood and the subject of ongoing archaeological investigations., and the names are sometimes used interchangeably. 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 features. 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 and then were led in the dark through the labyrinthine passageways - the eerie acoustics and complicated floor plan purposefully designed to disorient people before entering the central courtyard and coming abruptly face-to-face with the snarling features of the god. The San Pedro plant has hallucinogenic properties; ritual participants who ingested the substance may have perceived themselves transforming into one of several powerful animals such as jaguars or serpents.
Provenance: private Hawaii collection, acquired 2000 to 2010
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#177460
Condition
Old losses to rim as shown. Abrasions and chips, and softening to finer details. No repairs or restoration. Great condition.