Rare Chimú funerary post. Peru, ca. 1400.

Rare Chimú funerary post. Peru, ca. 1400.
Carved wood with traces of polychrome and vegetable fibers.
Provenance: collection of the sculptor Robert Jacobsen; exhibited at the Musée de l'Homme, Paris, 1967.
It shows old patina, wear, erosions, cracks and losses in accordance with its age. It preserves remains of vegetal elements and original patina.
Measurements: 122 cm (total height).

Anthropomorphic figure linked to the Chimú culture, developed in the northern coast of Peru, whose wooden sculptural production is associated with funerary and ritual contexts. This type of pieces fulfilled symbolic functions related to the spiritual world and protection, acting as elements of mediation in the transit to the afterlife.

The presence of knotted vegetable strings reinforces its ritual character, in relation to practices of offering or symbolic fastening. The marked stylization of the face, together with the remains of polychrome preserved, responds to the formal codes of pre-Columbian art in the region.

Specimens of this typology, especially in this format and with relevant provenances such as the present one, are rare in the market, which significantly increases their interest for collectors.