Cleveland Museum of Art

Lime Dipper or Pin with Owl

Date

1–800 CE

Medium

gold, cast

Culture

Isthmian Region (Colombia), Calima, Yotoco period

Department

Art of the Americas

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

An engaging miniature owl forms the finial of this dipper, which was used during coca-chewing rituals. Typically, coca leaves were chewed into a quid; then, with a dipper, lime made from powdered seashells was added to the quid to enhance the leaves' gentle stimulating effects. Contemporary natives regard coca as crucial to creating both social camaraderie and communion with supernatural forces; the same may have been true in the past. Chewing coca leaves remains popular among indigenous communities in the Andean region.

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