Spatula
Unknown Artist
900–1492
Medium
manatee bone
Dimensions
19.1 × 3.2 × 11 cm · diam. 1.7 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Art of the Americas
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Brian and Florence Mahony
Accession Number
1995.244
About this artwork
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.