Sican Lambayeque Silver Coca Spoon w/Bird Finial

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Pre-Columbian | Tribal | Oceanic

By Artemis Gallery

Mar 18, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-03-18 10:00:00 2021-03-18 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Pre-Columbian | Tribal | Oceanic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/pre-columbian-tribal-oceanic-6520
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• Lot Description
  Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Sican Lambayeque, ca. 800 to 1000 CE. A monumental high grade silver coca spoon (also called lime spoon) with an avian finial topped by a bowl-shaped receptacle, and a long handle that terminates in a petite scoop. The bird was skillfully embellished with circular eyes that may have once held inlays, a long pointy beak, a pair of danglers extending from each side of the body to represent wings or feathers, rings of dotted motifs delineated in repousse embellishing its body, and ring-shaped feet with additional dangling rings - perched upon a silver orb. The conical bowl above is adorned with a narrow register of repeated chevron motifs and resolves in a flat, everted rim. A wonderful silver spoon, created to prepare lime powder in order to enhance the hallucinogenic properties of other drugs. Silver quality: (finial) 89.52% silver; (shaft/handle) 48-64.4% silver; Weight: 129.2 grams; Size: 12.5" H (31.8 cm); 13.75" H (34.9 cm) on included custom stand.
  
  Given the long, pointy beak, this bird may represent a hummingbird. To the ancients of the Pre-Columbian world, hummingbirds (picaflores in Spanish) were associated with the sun. Appreciated for shiny, iridescent feathering and aerial acrobatics, the hummingbird made for the ideal solar metaphor. Since these birds are known to hover, seemingly motionless, and fly up, down, and even backwards, the ancients likened their motions to the sun's hovering in the sky at the solstices when it is also known to reverse its celestial direction. In addition, hummingbirds can assume a torpid state when it is cold at night or during brief periods in the winter. However, they come back to life in the spring warmth. This unique ability to "die" and "resurrect" signified rebirth to the ancients, precisely at a time when planting and, in this sense, "renewed life" occurred.
  
  Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex Hirsch collection, Germany, 1950 to 1960
  
  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.
  
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  #161603

  Condition

  Expected surface wear, indentations, and cracks, to the bird finial, evident on the the chest, side panels, beak, back of head, wings, and neck, as well as the lower section of the bowl above it. Some losses to circular borders of the bird's eyes which may have once held inlays. A few indentations to the spoon handle. The silver has developed a rich patina over the ages with green hues highlighting the bird.
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