Costa Rican Stone Trophy Head w/ Bird

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Exceptional Day 2: Pre-Columbian & Tribal Art...

By Artemis Gallery

Oct 3, 2019

Set Reminder 2019-10-03 10:00:00 2019-10-03 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Day 2: Pre-Columbian & Tribal Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-day-2-pre-columbian-tribal-art-4453
Day 2 of an important 2-day auction featuring exceptional, museum-worthy examples of Pre-Columbian from the ancient Americas, Native American, African / Tribal, Oceanic, Spanish Colonial and fossils. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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• Lot Description
  Pre-Columbian, Central America, Costa Rica, Atlantic Watershed region, ca. 700 to 1500 CE. An intriguing example of a sizable trophy head, hand-carved from mottled sage-green stone with black and beige inclusions. The head rests upon a stocky neck base, the oblong head presenting with a prominent chin, protruding lips, a slender nose with flared nostrils, coffee-bean-shaped eyes beneath thick brows, and spiraling ears bedecked with a pair of circular ornaments. An abstract bird rests in a prone position atop the disembodied head with outstretched wings and legs, and its conical head is raised like a crest just above the figure's forehead. A smooth surface texture and evidence of the string-saw cutting technique are prevalent on this wonderful example. Size: 5" W x 7.7" H (12.7 cm x 19.6 cm)
  
  Artists in ancient Costa Rica and nearby Panama commonly sculpted and painted disembodied human heads which are probably meant to represent trophy heads - ethnographic accounts from the region tell of a tradition both before and after the Spanish Conquest of taking trophy heads as a result of warfare. Although their use of war as a tool for acquiring resources and consolidating control under specific leaders is the same as ours today, theirs also had a supernatural element to it - the taking of the head was seen as an organized form of violence related to shamanism, whose role was to protect the community from any evil, including disease and sorcery. If a shaman's head was taken, then due to his or her supernatural skills, it could still have power, even separated from the rest of the body.
  
  Provenance: private Los Angeles, California, USA collection owned for almost two decades
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
  We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
  
  #149950

  Condition

  Small repair to area of neck line, with small chips and light adhesive residue along break lines. Minor chips and nicks to neck, head, and bird, with softening to some finer details, and encrustations within most recessed areas. Nice earthen deposits and smooth surface texture throughout. Old inventory label beneath neck.
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