Artwork Page for Spatula with Carved Lizard

Details / Information for Spatula with Carved Lizard

Spatula with Carved Lizard

100 BCE–700 CE

Peru, South Coast, Nasca

Medium
bone with shell inlay
Measurements
Overall: 11.8 x 2.6 cm (4 5/8 x 1 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1955.83
Public Domain
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Location
232 Andean
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Description

Peruvian Indians today regard coca leaf as a sacred substance that creates communion with supernatural forces. The leaves are chewed with powdered lime that in antiquity was stored in containers and scooped with spatulas like those seen here. Aside from its ritual meaning, coca has practical benefits: it is vitamin-rich; like coffee, it induces clear-headedness; and it increases stamina. The lizard spatula is Nasca in style.
A vertical bone spatula is carved into a lizard form with a rounded head, where a dark shell inlay and a small circular hole define its eyes. Rows of small, circular indentations texture the creature's body, which is flanked by four notched legs. Below the animal, the cream-colored bone smooths into a long, flat handle with a rounded base, its surface showing the natural, aged grain of the material.

Spatula with Carved Lizard

100 BCE–700 CE

Peru, South Coast, Nasca

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