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America Ancient Stone Game Ball "Batey", 500 Years Old

$4,640List Price

About the Item

Pre-Columbian, Hispaniola, Arawak Peoples, Taino Native Indians, 1000-1500 CE. This is a fine and important hand carved/pecked stone game ball (batey) from the Arawak Peoples of the Greater Antilles Islands. It is a choice and large example. It is finely incised on all planes with multiple stylized geometric motifs representing tattooing or scarification and faces, adding to the impressive aesthetic presence of this piece. Batey (game) Batéy was the name given to a special plaza around which the Caribbean Taino built their settlements. It was usually a rectangular area surrounded by stones with carved symbols. The batey was the area in which batey events (e.g. ceremonies, the ball game, etc.) took place. This form might have served as a marker or trophy symbol in a Taino inter- village ball game and ceremony. The exact purpose of ball games remain a mystery but they may have served to settle political disputes. While the precise function of such objects remain somewhat a mystery- they continue to impress us with their bold abstract form and magical associations. This remarkable sculpture is carved in a light colored iron rich hard stone like limestone. On the surfaces are finely incised stylized geometric motifs representing tattooing or scarification, adding to the impressive aesthetic presence of this piece. A carving of this complexity, quality and size must have belonged to a chieftain or ranking member of the royal household. Although Taino left no written documents, Spanish settlers did record native practices and one account refers to special structures in which chieftains stored their Trove of zemi and other important carvings. The Taino believed in existence of afterlife and Shamanic ability to communicate with the dead. This sculpture may well have been present and on display in such a ceremony or perhaps a focus of ancestor worship. This remarkably evocative work allows us to peak into ancient splendors of their remarkable civilization. Dimensions: 8.5 inches diameter Hand-carved/pecked. Venerated. An important and scarce work of art from America's Caribbean islands. Provenance: Old Puerto Rico collection collected 1950s-1960s, Frank Vasquez Taino History: The Taino flourished from 1200-1500. When Columbus arrived in America, the first people he encountered were the Taino People- inhabitants of the islands of the northern Caribbean Sea, known as Hispaniola. They were Arawakan-speaking people who at the time of Christopher Columbus’s exploration inhabited Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Once the most numerous indigenous people of the Caribbean, the Taino may have numbered several million at the time of the Spanish conquest in the late 15th century. Their highly developed belief system focused on zemi ancestor or god worship. A zemi was the physical manifestation of a god, spirit or ancestor. The chieftain -caciques- encouraged ancestor worship and were often deified after death. The religious leaders or shamans were thought to be able to communicate with the souls of the dead when intoxicated by the hallucinogenic cohoba. A preoccupation with death is evident in many Taino art-forms and partly explains the prevalence of zoomorphic images. Bats, owls and frogs were all popular motifs and were regarded as harbingers of life after death. The Taino believed that the dead could be reborn in animal form and some believe animals were their earliest ancestors in Taino creation myth. Hence we find their zoomorphic sculptures as combinations of human and animal forms particularly provocative and great conversational art. The creator god was known as Yúcahu Maórocoti, encouraging growth of staple foods, like cassava. The goddess was Attabeira, who regulated and dominated over water, rivers, and seas. Their contribution to the Spanish includes Indian corn, tobacco, rubber balls to unique art and artifacts, plus a new vocabulary. Importantly, the Taino lasting effects on Western civilization, though through brief contact, was an important and lasting one. Lifetime guarantee of authenticity: All of our works of art come with our Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee.

Dimensions:
Height: 8.5 in (21.59 cm)Diameter: 8.5 in (21.59 cm)Length: 8.5 in (21.59 cm)
Style:
Pre-Columbian (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Stone,Hand-Carved
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
15th Century and Earlier
Date of Manufacture:
15th Century
Condition:
Seller Location:
South Burlington, VT
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU1289212582711

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