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Source Description
Before undertaking a ritual to invoke the sacred, a holy person or ruler had to purify themself, inside and out. He or she might purge himself with laxatives, take saunas and ritual baths, and in some cultures, would remove hair from their faces or bodies. In Colombia, the contemporary Kogi people (who trace their ancestry to ancient peoples such as the Calima) frequently tweeze off their eyebrows before rituals. This may symbolize rebirth, recalling the scanty brows of infants. This golden object was likely both a decorative ornament and a functional tweezer, although probably it was used only in ritual performances.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
18881
label
Ceremonial Tweezers
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
18881
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Ceremonial Tweezers
description
Before undertaking a ritual to invoke the sacred, a holy person or ruler had to purify themself, inside and out. He or she might purge himself with laxatives, take saunas and ritual baths, and in some cultures, would remove hair from their faces or bodies. In Colombia, the contemporary Kogi people (who trace their ancestry to ancient peoples such as the Calima) frequently tweeze off their eyebrows before rituals. This may symbolize rebirth, recalling the scanty brows of infants. This golden object was likely both a decorative ornament and a functional tweezer, although probably it was used only in ritual performances.
provenance
Tiffany & Co., New York; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1910, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
ca. 900-1100 (Pre-Colombian)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Gold, Silver & Jewelry
tweezers
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
18.4
height
12.3
depth
1.4
dimensionsRaw
H: 7 1/4 × W: 4 13/16 × D: 9/16 in. (18.4 × 12.3 × 1.4 cm)
Source extras
cul
Calima
style
Calima
med
gold alloy
creator_ids
31451
collection_ids
AME
exhibition_ids
948
170
3381
3603
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
4a6902effeba1044