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Description

A votive figurine called Tunjo by the Muisca Indians. Flat Tunjo figurines such as this one, which could represent a variety of subjects, were buried in jars before burial, or thrown into lakes before the enthronement of a new ruler. Found in large numbers, and present today in numerous public and private collections, this corpus has long been considered a major one in Colombia, due to the importance given to this culture by ancient Spanish chronicles. André Emmerich, one of the world's leading experts on pre-Hispanic art, rightly reminds us that this is a regional style that is ultimately rather poor when compared to other cultures and traditions of pre-Hispanic goldsmithing in Colombia. But they do constitute a corpus of "unfortunately" mythical objects, the source of the fantasies and appetites of the conquistadors - the famous myth of the gold of El Dorado. Indeed, the Muisca Indians, long known as Chibcha after their linguistic group, who worshipped a god Chibchachun, the god of trade as well as the god of goldsmiths, are the only Colombian culture described in detail by the Spanish conquerors in ancient chronicles. Living in a temperate valley, ideal for agriculture, the Muisca lived at the time of the conquest in the prosperous highland basin of Bogota, but unfortunately still organized at the time of the conquest into several small competing states. André Derain, whose collection Jean Roudillon appraised at the sale of his collection in 1955, owned an entire collection, and it is possible that this Tunjo, long present in Jean Roudillon's collection, may also have belonged to him. Muisca, circa 1000 to 1550 A.D., Colombia Gold-rich Tumbaga (alloy of gold, silver and copper). H. 7.5 cm For Tunjo figurines, see pp. 83-88 in: Sweat of The Sun and Tears of The Moon, Gold and Silver in Pre-Columbian Art, André Emmerich, Hacker Art Book, New York 1977. Provenance : Jean Roudillon Collection before 1960

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A votive figurine called Tunjo by the Muisca Indians. Flat Tunjo figurines such as this one, which could represent a variety of subjects, were buried in jars before burial, or thrown into lakes before the enthronement of a new ruler. Found in large numbers, and present today in numerous public and private collections, this corpus has long been considered a major one in Colombia, due to the importance given to this culture by ancient Spanish chronicles. André Emmerich, one of the world's leading experts on pre-Hispanic art, rightly reminds us that this is a regional style that is ultimately rather poor when compared to other cultures and traditions of pre-Hispanic goldsmithing in Colombia. But they do constitute a corpus of "unfortunately" mythical objects, the source of the fantasies and appetites of the conquistadors - the famous myth of the gold of El Dorado. Indeed, the Muisca Indians, long known as Chibcha after their linguistic group, who worshipped a god Chibchachun, the god of trade as well as the god of goldsmiths, are the only Colombian culture described in detail by the Spanish conquerors in ancient chronicles. Living in a temperate valley, ideal for agriculture, the Muisca lived at the time of the conquest in the prosperous highland basin of Bogota, but unfortunately still organized at the time of the conquest into several small competing states. André Derain, whose collection Jean Roudillon appraised at the sale of his collection in 1955, owned an entire collection, and it is possible that this Tunjo, long present in Jean Roudillon's collection, may also have belonged to him. Muisca, circa 1000 to 1550 A.D., Colombia Gold-rich Tumbaga (alloy of gold, silver and copper). H. 7.5 cm For Tunjo figurines, see pp. 83-88 in: Sweat of The Sun and Tears of The Moon, Gold and Silver in Pre-Columbian Art, André Emmerich, Hacker Art Book, New York 1977. Provenance : Jean Roudillon Collection before 1960

Estimate 1 500 - 2 000 EUR

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For sale on Thursday 06 Jun : 16:00 (CEST)
paris, France
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