Ceremonial Axe with Avian Motif
Artist:
Unknown
Culture: Taíno
Period: Pre-Columbian
Date: ca. A.D. 1200-1500
Medium: Hornblende
Dimensions:
h. 10 3/4 in. (27.3 cm); w. 5 in. (12.7 cm); d. 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with the Mary Kathryn Lynch Kurtz Fund for the Acquisition of Modern Latin American Art
Object number: 2015.4.2
Provenance: Javier Olivares, born in Santa Domingo, Domincan Republic, by 1962 via immigration to USA (New York City, NY); by inheritance to Adonis Olivares, New York City, NY, by 2013; sold by Adonis Olivares to Throckmorton Fine Arts (Spencer Throckmorton, III), 2013; sold by Throckmorton Fine Art to San Antonio Museum of Art, 2015
Label Text
Carved from a single fragment of stone, this axe likely was used for ritual purposes by elites and/or shamans. The Taíno believed that natural materials were impued with a lifeforce, which would have been enhanced with the addition of the carved bird motif at the head of the axe. Birds were highly esteemed because they were able to move from the earth (the human realm) to the sky (the Taíno upperworld).
(Bernadette Cap, 2020).
(Bernadette Cap, 2020).
Not on view
In Collection(s)
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
