Published Ceremonial Staff of a Shaman of the Tairona Culture

Culture: Tairona/Northern Colombia

Period: 1000-1450 A.D.

Material: Green stone

Dimensions: 15.5 cm high

Price: 1 800 Euro

Ref: 11057

Provenance: Austrian private collection Prof. Josef Mairitsch (1938-1994) with the inventory number M 187. Acquired between 1960 and the early 1980s. Thence in the family estate. With a copy of the catalogue page.

Condition: End of shaft missing, otherwise very beautifully preserved.

Description: Finely worked out, flat ceremonial staff of a priest of the Tairona culture from Sierra Nevada de Santa Maria, the highest coastal region in the world in north Colombia. The smooth polished green stone with black inclusions conically runs upwards and has a zoomorphic head. It depicts two heads of feline predators facing outwards, possibly jaguars, with mouths wide open, exposing both rows of teeth. The eyes are slit-shaped, the nose semi-circularly directing upwards. Shamans, who play an important role in the Tairona culture, took the shape of a jaguar or identified themselves with the feline predator. The jaguar was considered as the connection between the natural and spiritual world. Furthermore, he symbolized strength, power and authority and embodied as a successful hunter the ability to secure food and resources. Published in: “Columbus am Wörthersee. Amerika vor Columbus.” Catalogue for the special exhibition of the cultural department of the state capital Klagenfurt from 1 June to 31 October 1992, p. 56, no. 8.02.