Lot 37
TAINO VOMIT STICK
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, C. 1000 - 1400 A.D.
Auction: 26 November 2026 from 14:00 GMT
Description
carved bone, depicting an anthropomorphic figure with skeletal features, recessed eyes and pronounced, grimacing teeth, crouching with arms bent over his stomach; decorative geometric carvings throughout the body and top of the sick; raised on a bespoke mount
Dimensions
26cm tall
Provenance
David Bernstein, New York
Woolley & Wallis, Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas | Antiquities, September 18, 2025, lot 708
Private collection, UK, acquired at the above
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.