Dominican Republic, Taíno Sandstone Three-pointer carved as Yocahú, Lord of Cazabe
Three-pointers are among the most prized objects from the Greater Antilles. Known as zemis to the anceint Taíno, Columbus observed them placed on stools beside chiefs, and he was told they were spirits in charge of good weather and good crops and to help women in childbirth. Three-pointer zemis were fertility stones related to the rejuvenation of the earth and the populace. This three-pointer portrays a grimacing deity with his hind legs curled behind him on the other side of the sculpture. Although grimacing, skeletal faces are characteristic of Taíno art, and when they occur on three-pointers they have been identified as Yocahú, Lord of the Sky and the patron spirit of Cazabe---yuca---the staple crop of the Taíno. This sculpture was executed with good proportions, and the mouth and eye sockets once had inlays of shell or perhaps discs of gold. A similar example in whitish sandstone is illustrated by Jacques Kerchace, ed. in 'L'art Taíno' (1994: 292). Jesse Fewkes, who thoroughly studied and assembled photographs of Taíno art for the Smithsonian created a typology for three-pointers, in which this particular zemi belongs to the First Type, and his report includes a number of related examples (1907: pls. XXXV - XXXVII).
Media: Stone
Dimensions: Length 10" x Height 91/2"
$22,000
M3055