Lot 58

Taino Manatee Bone Zemi Pendant with Horns

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Lot 58
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Taino Manatee Bone Zemi Pendant with Horns
Taino Manatee Bone Zemi Pendant with Horns
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Taino Manatee Bone Zemi Pendant with Horns

Estimate: $800 - $1,200

Starting Bid: $400

(0 Bids)
by Artemis Fine Arts
June 25, 2026 9:00 AM MDT (In Progress)
Live Auction
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

Pre-Columbian, Caribbean, Taino, ca. 1000–1500 CE. A compact amulet carved from dense manatee rib bone, its ivory-pale surface polished to a quiet sheen by centuries of handling. The form rises into two slender horn-like projections, framing a heart-shaped face whose features have softened into ghostly suggestion: shallow ocular hollows, the faintest ridge of a nose, and incised arcs sweeping across the brow like a diadem or skull suture. Two small perforations drilled between the horns served for suspension, allowing the piece to be worn close to the body as a personal talisman.

Such miniature heads belong to the broad family of Taino zemis, the embodied spirits that mediated between the living, the ancestors, and the natural world of the Greater Antilles. The horned variant likely references a specific cemi tied to fertility, ancestral power, or the cohoba ritual through which behiques (shamans) communed with the unseen. Manatee bone, prized for its density and ivory-like quality, was reserved for objects of consequence: amulets, vomiting spatulas, and inlays on duhos. Worn at the throat or chest, this small effigy would have channeled the spirit's protection to its bearer across the islands of Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Bahamas before contact dispersed and silenced the culture that made it. Size: 2.3" W x 2.8" H (5.8 cm W x 7.1 cm H).

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

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Item # 198563

  • Condition: Fair. Weathering to surface with rubbing and loss of detail as shown, all commensurate with age. Otherwise, intact with trace remaining detail. Encrustations to recessed areas. Wearable as a pendant.

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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