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Lot 45
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Pre-Columbian Taino Greenstone Petaloid Celt
Pre-Columbian Taino Greenstone Petaloid Celt
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Pre-Columbian, Caribbean, Taino, ca. 1000–1500 CE. A finely ground petaloid celt of dense greenstone, its silhouette tapering from a rounded poll to a gently curved cutting edge in the unmistakable flower-petal profile that gives the form its name. The surface retains a soft, satin polish across muted gray-green tones, with subtle mineral mottling betraying the stone's volcanic origins. Both faces have been patiently abraded to a smooth convexity, the working edge still crisp where ancient hands honed it to functional sharpness.

Among the polished stone sculpture of the ancestral Caribbean, celts of this kind constitute the largest surviving category, produced in great numbers and circulated widely across the Antilles. Some examples were hafted to wooden handles as working tools or weapons, while others, more elaborately carved with zoomorphic or anthropomorphic features, served as scepters and emblems of authority. Plainer blades such as this likely participated in a parallel ceremonial economy, perhaps deposited as dedicatory offerings, a practice with deep antecedents on the Mesoamerican mainland. The greenstones favored for these objects, both locally quarried and imported across open water, suggest that the celts themselves moved as prestige goods through the trade networks linking the islands.

Held in the hand, the piece carries the quiet authority of an object made to endure, its weight and balance speaking to a craftsman attuned to both the practical demands of the blade and the symbolic resonance of polished stone. Size: 1.5" W x 2.5" H x 7.3" D (3.8 cm W x 6.3 cm H x 18.5 cm D).

Provenance: ex-private collection, Fairhaven, Massachusetts, USA, collected from 2010 to 2015

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Item # 198386

  • Condition: Very Good. Chipping to butt, as well as some to side and nicks to blade edge. Otherwise, nice presentation with smooth surfaces.

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by Artemis Fine Arts
June 25, 2026 9:00 AM MDT
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

Artemis Fine Arts

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000