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Chimú Carved Ceremonial Staff with Effigy Rattle

Currency:USD Category:Art Start Price:1,000.00 USD Estimated At:4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD
Chimú Carved Ceremonial Staff with Effigy Rattle
<B>Carved Ceremonial Staff with Effigy Rattle Top</B></I><BR>Chimú<BR>A.D. 1110 - 1400<BR>Wood, seeds, traces of original red paint<BR>Height 54 1/2 in. Width 4 1/2 in.<BR>Height (top effigy components) 14 1/2 in.<BR><BR>The two broad faces of this ceremonial staff are identical. Serving to base the widened rattle area, a simplified frontal bust of a deity with stylized ears and earspool flanges rests atop the long circular shaft. On his head a rectangular carved openwork area, gridded diagonally, contains dried seed rattles. Two small atlantean figures stand on this supporting a bar on which inward-facing birds crouch, their beaks touching the bar. The birds support a three-tiered superstructure, each side holding a jar on each of its two ascending tiers, with two jars capping the entire arrangement. An indented area at the shaft's lower end indicates that it was once tipped by a metal element. The condition is excellent.<BR><BR>Provenance<BR>Splendors of the World, Haiku, Hawaii<BR>Christie's, Paris: sale 5068, 10 December 2003, lot 417, p.114<BR><BR>