Moche 22K Gold Atlatl w/ Turquoise, Bone Warrior

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Exceptional Antiquities, Asian, Ethnographic

By Artemis Gallery

Jun 4, 2020

Set Reminder 2020-06-04 10:00:00 2020-06-04 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Antiquities, Asian, Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-antiquities-asian-ethnographic-5185
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• Lot Description
  Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Moche, ca. 400 to 600 CE. An exquisite 22K gold atl atl (also atlatl) with a lower upcurved branch surmounted by an inlaid mosaic turquoise platform atop which a miniature helmeted warrior carved from human bone stands holding one hand to his mouth and the other to his abdominal area, as well as a turquoise spur to support the butt of a dart, perhaps in the form of an abstract zoomorphic head or limb, adorning the upper end of the atlatl. An example like this, comprised of high quality gold and beautiful turquoise, was a work of luxury art and was likely not actually used for spear throwing, but rather was reserved for ceremonial purposes. Size: 15" H (38.1 cm); 16" H (40.6 cm) on included custom stand.
  
  It should be said that any goldwork from the Moche is exceedingly rare, as their treasures were targeted by plunderers during Colonial times. Heidi King of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York offers the following explanation in "The Art of Precolumbian Gold": "The Mochica or Moche as they are also known, built their capital in the dry, coastal valley of Moche, where the main construction was the Huaca del Sol, the so-called Pyramid of the Sun, the largest adobe structure built in Pre-Columbian South America. The great pyramid, made of over 143 million adobe bricks, was clearly visible and easily accessible during Colonial times, and it received extraordinary attentions from early treasure hunters (Bray this volume). As a result of such attentions, little of the wealth in precious metals that the Moche peoples are believed to have possessed remains in its ancient form today. Those works that do remain are all the more important because of their rarity." (The Art of Precolumbian Gold: The Jan Mitchell Collection" edited by Julie Jones. Boston: Little Brown & Company, 1985, p. 212)
  
  Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex Gary Hendershott Collection, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA; ex Ian Arundel Collection, Old Curiosity Cabinet, Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA, collected 1960 to 1970
  
  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.
  
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  #155998

  Condition

  Minute nicks and abrasions to turquoise elements and normal surface wear to warrior figure. Slight indentations and scuffs to the gold elements commensurate with age. Gold has developed a lovely warm patina over the ages.
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