Fine Taino Stone Trigonolith Zemi

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It's a Small World | Diminutive Artifacts

By Artemis Gallery

Nov 11, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-11-11 12:00:00 2021-11-11 12:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : It's a Small World | Diminutive Artifacts https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/its-a-small-world-diminutive-artifacts-7836
Join us for a very special auction featuring art & artifacts from East to West, North to South, and everywhere in between - with one small thing in common - size! Everything in this auction is approximately 6 inches or less - perfect for that last bit of shelf space in your curio cabinet! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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• Lot Description
  Pre-Columbian, Caribbean, Dominican Republic, Taino, ca. 15th century CE. This is a fine example of a "three pointer" or "trigonolith" stone zemi head - a human effigy face carved from a single piece of creamy white-gray stone with meticulously carved and pecked skeletal features including a pair of deep-socketed round eyes, a wide-open mouth, and a prominent nose. The cheeks, brow, and chin are incised with linear and spiraling motifs as scarification or tattoos - all adding to the impressive aesthetic and spiritual presence of this piece. The visage is gaunt and almost corpse like, a striking countenance complete with a wide grin! This piece is among the various cult objects associated with the worship of "zemis" - deities, ancestors, or earth spirits revered by the Taino culture. Size: 4.25" L x 2" W x 2.25" H (10.8 cm x 5.1 cm x 5.7 cm)
  
  The zemi (or cemi) stone, with its characteristic three cardinal points, is a fundamental symbol in the Taino religion. Tainos traditionally name the three points "Yocahu Bagua Maorocoti" - another name for the Creator, Yaya. Zemis like this example are believed to be inhabited by powerful spirits. The uppermost point represents the top of this sacred mountain peak, in the turey (sky) of the four directions, where Yaya - the Creator, whose name means that which has neither beginning nor end and which has no male ancestor or creator - resides. The 'chin' point represents Coabey, the underworld or place of the dead. Here Hupia, the spirit of the dead, resides, and the face of Guayaba, the Chief of Coabey, is represented. Finally, the opposite point represents the land of the living where Goiz, the spirit of living people, resides.
  
  This piece was from a pre-1970 Taino collection, and many of the pieces in the collection were on public display at the Museum of Native American History in Bentonville Arkansas from November 2016 to March 2019. Most of the artifacts came from Wilfred Belmar; born in the Dominican Republic, he began finding and collecting artefacts as a child through the 1930s and 1940s. This collection has been vetted by Dr. William F. Keegan, chairman and curator of the Anthropology Department of Natural History at the Florida Museum of Natural History, Associate Director for Research and Collections, professor of Anthropology and Curator of Latin American Studies at the University of Florida, and author of "Talking Taino" published 2008 and "The Oxford Handbook of Caribbean Archaeology" published in 2013. In 2015 he studied this collection and was quite impressed with the quality of the pieces. The pieces were also studied by Dr. John F. Scott, Professor Emeritus, Professor of Art History at the University of Florida and publisher of the textbooks: "Latin American Art: Ancient and Modern," "The Art of the Taino of the Dominican Republic" in 1985, and the 1970 Metropolitan Museum of Art catalog "Before Cortes."
  
  Provenance: private J. Hart Collection, Houston, Texas, USA, acquired mid-1970s
  
  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.
  
  PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.
  
  Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.
  
  #167556

  Condition

  Chips and stable cavity on verso and high pointed areas. Some softening and surface pitting of details on central nose and cheek areas. Mineral and black inclusions within recessed areas and nice patina.
• Shipping Info

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