Ceremonial Seat (duho) or Platter
- Artist Culture
- Taino
- Date
- c.1315–1416
- Material
- Wood
- Classification
- Furniture, wood
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 112
- Dimensions
- 6 5/8 × 8 × 24 1/2 in. (16.8 × 20.3 × 62.2 cm)
- Credit Line
- Friends Endowment Fund and Primitive Art Society Fund in honor of Morton D. May
- Rights
- Contact Us
- Object Number
- 168:1981
NOTES
The large eyes, gaping mouth, and curled toes of this figure suggest a heightened state associated with the consumption of cohoba. This vegetal hallucinogen was used by Taino spiritual healers and leaders to communicate with supernatural forces. The figure lies on his back with fists clenched behind his head, and wears a woven skull cap and bands around his arms and legs. He is identified as a zemi, a deity or ancestral spirit that permeated the Greater Antilles.
A Taino artist carved the sculpture from dense guaiacum wood, and utilized the natural angles of a tree branch to define the figure's bent legs. The concave chest likely functioned as a seat or platter used during the cohoba ritual.
A Taino artist carved the sculpture from dense guaiacum wood, and utilized the natural angles of a tree branch to define the figure's bent legs. The concave chest likely functioned as a seat or platter used during the cohoba ritual.
Provenance
late 1860s
Private Collection, Dominican Republic [1]
c.1868
Mr. Bruns of Roth, Bruns and Co., San Felipe de Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, acquired from Private Collection [1]
by 1878 - 1895
Albert Warren Kelsey (1840–1921), St. Louis, MO, given by Mr. Bruns [1]
1895 - 1981
Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis, MO, given by Albert Warren Kelsey [2]
1981 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Missouri Historical Society [3]
Notes:
[1] A letter dated July 17, 1878, written by A. Warren Kelsey to Oscar N. Collet describes the history of the object prior to Kelsey's ownership. The original letter is held in the Archives of the Archaeology Collection, Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis [SLAM document files].
[2] Minutes of the Missouri Historical Society, August 5, 1898 [SLAM document files].
[3] Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, April 27, 1981.
Private Collection, Dominican Republic [1]
c.1868
Mr. Bruns of Roth, Bruns and Co., San Felipe de Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, acquired from Private Collection [1]
by 1878 - 1895
Albert Warren Kelsey (1840–1921), St. Louis, MO, given by Mr. Bruns [1]
1895 - 1981
Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis, MO, given by Albert Warren Kelsey [2]
1981 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Missouri Historical Society [3]
Notes:
[1] A letter dated July 17, 1878, written by A. Warren Kelsey to Oscar N. Collet describes the history of the object prior to Kelsey's ownership. The original letter is held in the Archives of the Archaeology Collection, Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis [SLAM document files].
[2] Minutes of the Missouri Historical Society, August 5, 1898 [SLAM document files].
[3] Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, April 27, 1981.