Ca. 600-1500 AD. Jade from the Rio San Juan in the Dominican Republic. 12 3/8″ high x 5 3/4″ wide. Fully relief-carved body. The hero may be an ancestor. At the center of the celt is an engraved ghost face. Under the feet is a complex group of bird heads, symbols associated with weather. The large size points to the celt’s visual importance during rituals. Undercoated celts that were highly polished and the bit undamaged often used as a type of currency. Provenance: Personally acquired by Larry Roberts in the late 1960s-early 1920s from a bat guano collector in Padre Las Casas, Dominican Republic. It was found in an unnamed cave along the Rio de Cuevas. Larry Roberts is 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.
