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Lot 71A
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Taino Carved Conch Shell Bracelets - Pair, Caribbean
Taino Carved Conch Shell Bracelets - Pair, Caribbean
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Pre-Columbian, Caribbean, Taino, ca. 1000–1500 CE. A pair of cuff bracelets ground and polished from the thick lip of a marine conch, their irregular ovoid openings retaining the organic curve of the parent shell. Each band has been patiently abraded to a smooth, rounded section, the cream and ivory surfaces softened by burial and faintly mottled with mineral staining. The larger of the two swells to a broad crescent along its lower edge, suggesting it was worn so the widest face sat against the wrist or upper arm as a display of status. Shell was a prestige material among the Taino of the Greater Antilles, laboriously worked with stone and sand into ornaments, beads, and ceremonial inlays. Worn likely by persons of rank, these bracelets embody the maritime world that shaped Taino identity, where the sea furnished both sustenance and the very substance of personal adornment. Size of larger: 4.8" W x 3.9" H (12.2 cm W x 9.9 cm H).

The Taino, the dominant Arawakan-speaking people of the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas, were the first Indigenous Americans encountered by Columbus in 1492. Shell ornaments held particular value in their hierarchical society, where caciques (chiefs) and the noble nitaino class distinguished themselves through body adornment. Queen conch (Lobatus gigas) supplied a dense, workable medium that, lacking metal tools, artisans shaped through prolonged grinding against abrasive stone. Such labor invested even unembellished objects with prestige, marking the wearer's access to skilled craft and marine resources.

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

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Item # 198482

  • Condition: Excellent. Weathering and surface wear as shown, but, otherwise, both are intact and excellent.

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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