Quimbaya, Pre-Columbian Ceramic And 12 Kts Gold Statuette. South America, Colombia Tomb Guardian Ca 13th Century AD Antiquities

 

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Ancient Pre-Columbian Ceramic Statuette Of A Tomb Guardian. Colombia, Quimbaya Culture, Dated As Circa 13th To The 15th Century AD. A Petite Pottery Slab Figure Modeled In Buff Clay, With A Flat, Rectangular Head And A Compact Seated Body Rendered In A Simplified, Stylized Form With Indicated Genitalia. The Nose Is Pierced To Receive A Crescent-Shaped Nose Ring Of Approximately 12karats Yellow Gold Purity, Alloyed Primarily With Copper And Minor Silver Content. These Slab Figures Are Characteristic Of The Quimbaya Region Along The Cauca River And Are Commonly Found In Funerary Contexts, Where They Were Placed In Shaft Tombs Alongside Ceramics And Metal Objects, Likely Serving As Protective Or Companion Figures For The Deceased.

The Quimbaya Civilization, An Ancient Indigenous Culture In Present-Day Colombia, Thrived In The Fertile Valleys Of The Cauca River, Spanning Modern Departments Of Quindío, Caldas, And Risaralda. Known For Their Exceptional Goldsmithing And Intricate Ceremonial Practices. The Quimbaya People Were, At Their Height, A Wide-Spread Civilization That Stretched Across The Northern Andes, And Was Even Present In Ecuador And Peru. Archaeologists Estimate That The Quimbaya Civilization Emerged At Some Time Around 500 BCE, And Lasted Until The Spanish Conquest Wiped Them Out In The Early 17th Century AD. The Quimbaya Were Among The First People In The Andean Region To Develop Sedentary Society And Agriculture.

Funeral Rituals Were Central To Quimbaya Culture. The Dead Were Interred In Sarcophagi Made From Hollowed Trunks, Accompanied By Elaborate Offerings, Including Gold Artifacts, Food, And Personal Items. These Practices Reflected Their Belief In Bodily Resurrection And A Well-Prepared Journey To The Afterlife.

Tombs Were Often Monumental, With Burial Mounds Adorned With Symbols Of Fertility And Rebirth. Gold’s Sacred Status Made It A Crucial Element In These Ceremonies, Symbolizing The Deceased's Spiritual Elevation.

Dimensions, Size: 3.25 X 4.75 inches, equivalent to 8.3 X 12.1 Cm. Metal Testings, Gold Quality: 51% (Equivalent To 12k+); Silver Quality: 8.9%. All measurements are approximate. Condition: Excellent, and intact with manganese mineral deposits on the surface.

Provenance: Private New York, USA Collection; Ex-Lands Beyond Time, New York. Currently At Private NYC, USA, 2026.