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a close up of a gold brooch with a bird on itan image of a gold broochle with a bird on top of itan image of a gold broochle with a bird on top of it
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40 - SHAMAN-BAT FIGURE Tumbaga gold H.
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Estimate €4,000 - €6,000
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Description
SHAMAN-BAT FIGURE Tumbaga gold H. 4.94 cm, W. 5.46 cm Tairona culture, c. 900–1600 AD Provenance Former family collection, Mr Roberto Lara, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Sotheby’s, Toronto (Canada), dated May–June 1994 Private collection, Paris, acquired from the previous owner Accompanied by the 1994 Sotheby’s certificate of authenticity and an analysis by the Res.Artes laboratory. A nude shaman figure, depicted in full face, legs apart, holding two elongated sceptre-like objects. She wears a pectoral plate decorated with interlaced lines, facial ornaments piercing her cheeks (nariguera and facial buttons), and a large, flat, semi-circular, openwork headdress, topped by two bat heads facing each other. The tumbaga shows wear consistent with prolonged wear — scratches and marks on the reverse — and, in the recesses, small areas of green copper carbonate, a product of the oxidation of copper, the only non-precious metal in the alloy. The meaning of these figures has not been fully elucidated. Chieftains are frequently associated with depictions of bats, which adorn their large headdresses. As nocturnal hunters, sometimes blood-feeding, bats were associated with the night and the underworld; by wearing such an ornament, the shaman would have embodied their strength, agility and night vision to travel through the cosmos and gain access to knowledge forbidden to others. For a comparable example, see the pendant inv. 70.157.2, Brooklyn Museum, New York, (Fig. 1). A Tairona tumbaga gold. c.900–1600 AD. A shaman figure depicted nude, in full face, with legs apart, holding two elongated sceptre-like objects. He wears a pectoral decorated with interlaced lines, ornaments piercing his cheeks (a nose ornament/nariguera and facial studs), and a broad, flat, semi-circular openwork headdress surmounted by two facing bat heads. The tumbaga shows signs of wear consistent with prolonged use — scratches and marks on the reverse — and, in the recesses, small areas of green copper carbonate, the result of the oxidation of copper, the only base metal in the alloy. The meaning of these figures is not fully understood. Caciques are frequently associated with depictions of bats, which adorn their large headdresses. As efficient nocturnal hunters, and at times blood-feeding, bats were linked to the night and the underworld; by wearing such an ornament, the shaman would have embodied their strength, agility and night vision in order to travel through the cosmos and gain knowledge inaccessible to others. For a comparable example, see the pendant inv. 70.157.2, Brooklyn Museum, New York (fig. 1).
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About the sale FROM CAESAR TO CAESAR
Auction location
Auction time 07/08/2026 at 3:00 PM
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