Ritual Cache
1300–1400
Medium
Wood, stone, plant fibers, cotton, feathers, hide, and pigment
Dimensions
Male figure: H.: 64 cm (25 1/4 in.); Female figure: H.: 36 cm (14 3/16 in.)
Classification
ceremonial object
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
55249
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Discovered wrapped and hidden in a remote, dry cave, this cache of ritual figures comes from the Salado culture, which flourished in the mountains of southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Brilliantly colored and adorned with flicker feathers and dyed cotton string, these effigies once formed an altar as agents for communion with the life-giving spirits of the earth and sky. The large male figure, with his feather necklace and bold black-...