Taino Ancestral Head with Residual Body

Ca. 600-1500 AD. Magnetite. 5 1/2″ high x 4 3/4″ wide x 8 1/4″ long. Enlarged heads were often portrayed in Taino art as being the center of knowledge and hallucinogenic visions. See Taino Zemis and Other Heads of State, Rediscovering Caribbean Art History, Roberts, Chapter 7. Stone heads were often portrayed as ancestral beings and used ceremonial complexes. They were noted for their refined abstraction and religious significance. In this case, it appears the skull-like head, dropped jawline, bat nose, and skeletal form represent death, while the secondary body represents life. In the Taino religious construct the primary goal is to die, through inhaling copious amounts of cohoba snuff to be reconstituted in a new life. Provenance: From the estate of Dr. Robert Woodruff, Professor of Entomology at the University of Florida. He specialized in insects from the Caribbean. During his many ventures to the Dominican Republic, he collected Taino art and rocks from Hispaniola. To Larry Roberts, author of Taino Sculpture Art of the Gods, Taino Hallucinogenic Implements Inhaling the Cosmic Dust, and Taino Zemis and Other Heads of State, Rediscovering Caribbean Art. BS in Archaeology, University of Florida and BA in Art History, University of Florida. Museum displays of Taino Art, Orlando Museum of Art (2013-2014) and Santa Fe College (2024-Present). Mr. Roberts has been a collector of Caribbean Pre-Columbian art for the last 60 years. Age appropriate wear.