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Lot 69
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Taino Stone Trigonoliths - Three Miniature Zemis incl. Zoomorphic
Taino Stone Trigonoliths - Three Miniature Zemis incl. Zoomorphic
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Pre-Columbian, Greater Antilles, Taino, ca. 1000–1500 CE. A trio of miniature three-pointed stones, the form the Taino called trigonoliths, ground and polished from dense igneous rock in graduated tones of gray, olive, and near-black. Each rises to a central conical peak flanked by two opposing projections, the canonical silhouette of the zemi, a vessel of spirit power. Two are rendered plain, their surfaces smoothed to an even sheen that lets the stone speak for itself. The third is zoomorphic, one terminal carved into an alert animal head with modeled snout and eyes, breathing life into the abstract geometry. Such objects channeled the cemi, the indwelling supernatural force, and were buried in conuco fields to quicken the cassava harvest or invoked in cohoba rites. Compact and tactile, they distill an entire cosmology into the palm of the hand. Size of largest: 2.7" W x 2.4" H x 1.4" D (6.9 cm W x 6.1 cm H x 3.6 cm D).

The three-pointed stone is among the most distinctive artifacts of the Taino world, the Arawakan-speaking peoples who flourished across Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the surrounding islands until the arrival of Columbus. The word "zemi" (also cemi) names both the carved object and the animating spirit it housed; chroniclers such as Ramon Pane, who lived among the Taino in the 1490s, recorded that these stones were thought to promote the growth of yuca (cassava) and were tied intimately to agricultural fertility. Their tripointed geometry has been variously read as a mountain, a germinating tuber, or a breast, all images of generative abundance. Zoomorphic examples, terminating in the heads of reptiles, birds, or other creatures, link the spirit force to the natural world and are prized above their plainer counterparts.

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

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Item # 198499

  • Condition: Good. Zemi figure has been repaired with some chipping along visible break lines. Otherwise, other two are intact and all are very nice. Zemi has liberal remaining detail.

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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