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TAINO PRECOLUMBIAN HUMAN IGUANA EFFIGY

Currency:USD Category:Firearms & Military Start Price:200.00 USD Estimated At:NA
TAINO PRECOLUMBIAN HUMAN IGUANA EFFIGY
Taino. PreColumbian. An outstanding effigy of a human to iguana spiritual transformation. It is rare to see statuary this size depicting the physical human to animal transfiguration. The expressive face and tilted body adds dynamic animation to this evocative carving. This example captures a female subject pushing her stomach. An embossed ring encircles a large navel that symbolizes fertility. In addition there is a distinct bulge between the thighs that represent birthing. All Taino ions for fecundity. On the back the vertebrae, shoulders and hips are all well sculpted. Freestanding. Made of a fine grained metabasalt-like stone. Measures 10 1/2 inches. Taino Culture c. 800-1500 AD. Dominican Republic, Higuey Provence. Purchased from the Theodore Gaster estate 1991, to Roberts Collection. Curated by Larry Roberts author of “Taino Sculptures, Art of the Gods”. “Taino Hallucinogenic Implements Inhaling the Cosmic Dust” and newly released “Taino Zemis and Other Heads of State, ReDiscovering Caribbean Art”. BS. Archeology U of Fl and BA Art History U of Fl. The Taino were master carvers who created a distinctive deistic and ancestral assembly unrivaled by their pan-Caribbean contemporaries. Exceptional craftsmanship, carefully polished semiprecious stone, and ingenious technological skills speak to our aesthetic sensibilities. Though we may not understand the arts specifics, the conceptual grasp is sublime. Taino art transmitted symbolic meaning, sacral ideology and tribal lineage. A recognized system of shapes, design elements and ideographs, forming a collective manifest that communicated social identity and cultural cohesion. This lot has a reserve.