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Spatula
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
In 1492, when Christopher Columbus sailed into the Caribbean, the islands of Cuba, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Jamaica and Puerto Rico were inhabited by the Taino people. Taino religious ceremonies often included the snuffing of hallucinogenic herbs to alter the consciousness and facilitate contact with the spirit world. Carved spatulas were used to blend the powdered herbs. After purifying the body through purging the stomach, the snuff was inhaled into both nostrils.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineSpatula, 900–1492. Caribbean, Greater Antilles, Taino, 10th-15th century. Manatee bone; diameter: 1.7 cm (11/16 in.); overall: 19.1 x 3.2 x 11 cm (7 1/2 x 1 1/4 x 4 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Brian and Florence Mahony, 1995.244
