38 - TAINO AMULET

TAINO AMULET GREATER ANTILLES, C. 800 - 1500 A. D. stone, anthropomorphic figure with the face of a monkey and hunched human legs in a ‘frog’ position, hole through the neck, raised on a bespoke mount 6.8cm tall Provenance: Collected in the early 20th century Smithsonian Institute, Washington Merton Simpson, New York Private collection, France Private collection, London The Taino were the people native to the Caribbean islands before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, who believed in Zemi, a deity or ancestral spirit. This figure is characteristic of amuletic zemis, where the stone has a characteristically abstract human or animal head with hunched legs, sometimes known as ‘frog’s legs’ due to their position. The sculptural zemis often have the fierce face of the creator god, with wide, ovoid eyes. In the Tanio language, the term ‘zemi’ did not just refer to portable religious objects, but also to the immaterial force that could imbue beings, things, and other natural elements. A zemi was a power capable of causing and effecting, performing a wide variety of functions from healing, bringing rain, and providing food.