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Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Chavin, ca. 1200 to 500 BCE. A charming and rare example of a lemon-carro stone mortar in the form of an armadillo, one half of a mortar and pestle used for grinding materials needed to ingest hallucinogenic substances. The interior is hollowed-out for storage. The overall form of the item is that of an armadillo which exhibits a long nose, rounded ears that project forward, and incised round eyes. The shoulders of the animal are carved to resemble its armor-like shell. The armadillo’s bust sits atop a rounded projection that conceals a storage area. Size: 1.5″ W x 2″ H (3.8 cm x 5.1 cm).
Armadillos are fascinating animals, often thought of in New World mythology as an “anomalous animal,” because it presents a shell over a mammalian body. Its prodigious digging abilities led to an association with agriculture and the subterranean world, linked with the dead. South American myths describe armadillos being asked to help dig graves. This example of drug paraphernalia depicted as an armadillo probably relates to the symbolic links between shamanism and death.
Lemon Carro is a famous site on the Jequetepeque river in northern Peru where hallucinogenic miniature drug poporos in stone of very high quality were discovered. It is near Tembladera, a site for first class Chavin ceramic vessels.
Condition: Age-commensurate surface wear, small chips to one ear, nose, and rim base, with some discoloration, otherwise excellent. Light earthen and mineral deposits throughout. An old adhesive mark on verso of head.
Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-Ferdinand Anton collection, Germany, a famous Pre-Columbian art expert and author, collected before 2000
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