TAINO SPATULA
GREATER ANTILLES, 800 - 1500 A.D.
African & Oceanic Art, Natural History and Ancient Art
Auction: 30 July 2025 from 14:00 BST
Description
carved stone, the spatula features a long, tapering shaft topped by a compact, abstracted anthropomorphic figure, the head is forward-leaning with exaggerated features, and the arms are folded tightly against the body, raised on a bespoke mount
Dimensions
30cm tall
Provenance
Karl Stimm, Antwerp
Dr A. Médard, Berlare, collection formed 1960s - 1980s
Footnote
Taíno sculptors created ceremonial objects, known as vomit spatulas, spoons, or vomitivos, featuring stylised human and animal forms. Used in purification rites, these tools helped shamans (behiques) induce vomiting before entering trance states brought on by inhaling cohoba, a hallucinogenic snuff. Carved from bone, wood, shell, or occasionally stone, they were often linked to zemis, ancestral spirits central to Taíno religion. In communal rituals, these implements served as both practical tools and sacred conduits to the spirit world.