Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2024.015.038 |
Object Name |
Mace, Ceremonial |
Description |
This ceremonial mace head with stylized macaw head, or ceremonial double-headed pestle, originates from the Guanacaste Nicoya area of Costa Rica, Central America. In the ancient Caribbean, the heads of ancestors were objects of devotion, kept in special baskets in the round temples known as bohíos. The head, rather than other bones, was kept because the Taíno people believed that spiritual power in the body resided in the head, particularly the face, through which people could communicate their emotions and spirit. Although durable, these carefully kept skulls disintegrated over centuries of veneration, so later Taínos (c. 1000-1500 AD) made stone representations of skeletal heads that seem to have fulfilled the same purpose as keeping the skulls. These are often known as "Macorix heads," because many of them have been found near San Pedro de Macorís in the Dominican Republic. They are also part of a broader group of objects known as zemis or cemis, which refer to ancestral spirits and the earthly containers for those spirits. This head might have contained the presence of a known ancient or powerful ancestor, so the sculpture was not necessarily portrait-like. Special thanks to Dr. Althia Ali for researching this mace alongside Reece Museum staff. This research was made possible by the Luce Foundation. This artifact was initially donated to the City of Kingsport before it was transferred to the ETSU Reece Museum. |
Date |
c. 100-500 AD (Late Period IV) |
Artist |
Artist Once Known |
Place of Origin |
pre-contact Central America/Caribbean Region |
Material |
stone |
Subjects |
International Art World History |
Search Terms |
International Art World History |