Taino (c. 1000-1500 CE) Wooden Zemi (Lignum Vitae)

Taino (c. 1000-1500 CE) Wooden Zemi made of Lignum Vitae. This wood is related to the creosote tree and is bug and decay resistant. Therefore the Greater Antilles is fortunate to have rare wooden cere

Taino (c. 1000-1500 CE). An elegant Woodpecker carved on vomit stick made from lignum vitae. Vomit sticks or purging spatulas were used prior to ingesting cohoba to rid the body of impurity‰Ûªs th

Pre-Columbian, Caribbean Islands, Taino people, ca. 1000 to 1500 CE. A hand-carved stone pestle with a dense, egg-shaped body surmounted by the head of a mythological deity known as a zemi. It is poss

Taino (c. 1000-1500 CE). A wonderfully conceived masterpiece of Taino art. Simple yet elegant. A bat shaped shallow cohoba bowl. Used to contain the hallucinogen cohoba during shamanic rituals. Bats w

Taino (c. 1000-1500 CE). An elaborate double chambered figural bowl. Featuring two rhinoceros iguanas as handles. The rhinoceroses iguana still lives in the Dominican Republic and is identified by a c

Taino (c. 1000-1500 CE) Macoris Head. The severe sloping of the forehead suggests modification by cradle boarding typical of Macrois heads. Also the round form of the head is another design element co

Taino (c. 1000-1500 CE) Full figure anthropo-zoomorphic effigy. Closed eyes, head resting on front feet, extended ear-like ear ornaments, and recumbent position may be a canine reference. Appears to b

Taino (c. 1000-1500 CE) Ceremonial Vomit stick. Full figure recumbent human with frog-like back legs and hands resting under chin, supporting head. The small size suggests it may have been used by an

Taino (c. 1000-1500 CE) Anthropomorphic Full figure cacique (Chief), wearing a duck head headdress. Probably a clan figure. Cacique is posed as if sitting on a duho. A serpentinite type stone. Provena

Taino (c. 1000-1500 CE) fine full figure rhinoceros iguana. Head elevated skyward and feet curl in what appears to be a reverent position. Raised area on nose resembles a frog head when viewed with ig

Taino (c. 1000-1500 CE) Framed necklace. Found in Haiti. Containers 5 andesite pendants. The Haitian Taino typically used this type of stone or shell for their pendants. Either limited by available st

Taino (c. 1000-1500 CE) Full figure Cohoba inhaler. Type 2. Subject is female and pushing stomach possibly depicting Atabey goddess of fertility or one of the female wind goddesses. Nice precise detai

Taino (c. 1000-1500 CE) Fertility fid with face. These were typically used to deflower young maidens after their first menstruation. However the size of this piece may suggest it was used during relig

Taino (c. 1000-1500 CE) Anthropic full figure female effigy. This is probably an ancestral deity who formerly held an elite position in Taino society and revered later in folklore. Made of hefty magne

Taino (c. 1000-1500 CE). Impressive marble pendant. Hands pushing belly, vaginal slit and frog head brow suggests the primary goddess of fertility Atabey (frog mother). Typical eye margins. Well carve

Taino (c. 1000-1500 CE) Nicely conceived male Anthropic figure. Not a pendant. Males are not as frequently depicted in TAINO art. The discrepancy points to a female based religious system. Unusual pro

Taino (c. 1000-1500 CE). Framed examples of progression of art work by Taino craftsmen. Stone. Provenance: Larry Roberts, author of Taino Sculpture: Art of the Gods. Carvings range in size from: 1'' x

Pre-Columbian, Caribbean / Florida, Taino people, ca. 1000 to 1500 CE. An intriguing male zemi figural amulet, hand-carved from a mottled black-and-white stone, with abstract and enigmatic features. T

Taino Mask-Like Form (1000-1500 CE). Similar to a ZEMI. Excellent craftsmanship, with precise facial engraving featuring nicely conceived eyes and mouth. Surrounds and crisp symbolic notations. Pierce

Pre-Columbian, Caribbean area, perhaps Dominican Republic, Taino (Arawak) Indians, ca. 1000 to 1500 CE. A fabulous stone zemi figure boasting a characteristically evocative visage comprised of huge, s

Pre-Columbian, Caribbean, Taino (Arawak) Indians, ca. 1000 to 1500 CE. This fascinating stone zemi figure exhibits a characteristically abstract visage, displaying huge, annular eyes, delineated nostr

Pre-Columbian, Caribbean Islands, Taino people, ca. 1000 to 1500 CE. A miniature stone owl zemi with a shallow socket on the base - perhaps this carving was a finial or amulet to channel the bird's su

Large Taino Serpentine Frog-Man Form (1000-1500 CE). Large serpentine frog-man/zemi--like form. Nicely polished to capture the luminous quality of the stone. åÊFigure is in transition from human to

Pre-Columbian, Caribbean, Taino, ca. 1000 to 1500 CE. A stunning and scarce life-sized face of a zemi (sometimes cemi) carved from a single piece of coral! The forward-facing visage is relief carved w