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Man on litter effigy
Muisca
AD 1100–1550
Place of Origin: Departments of Cundinamarca & Boyacá, Colombia
Medium/Technique
Gold and copper alloy
Dimensions
7.3 x 22.86 cm (2 7/8 x 9 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds donated by Landon T. Clay
Accession Number1975.139
CollectionsAmericas
ClassificationsRitual objects
DescriptionEffigy offering (called a "tunjo") portraying a male figure standing on a litter, its parallel carrying poles grasped by tiny figures depicting litter bearers (seven survive). The main figure's elaborate clothing, body adornments, and double-staffed object in front of him indicate high status, perhaps a ruler.
Tunjos were used during religious rites, often grouped and placed in ceramic containers which were deposited as offerings in caves, lagoons, and temples. The diversity of portrayals also suggests their use during various social and political rites. Tunjo themes relate to common subject matter, most notably male warriors carrying spear-throwers, darts, and trophy heads. Others may depict leaders (political and religious) adorned with ornate headdresses and carrying official staffs. Others portray women in ritual attire or tending children.
Tunjos were used during religious rites, often grouped and placed in ceramic containers which were deposited as offerings in caves, lagoons, and temples. The diversity of portrayals also suggests their use during various social and political rites. Tunjo themes relate to common subject matter, most notably male warriors carrying spear-throwers, darts, and trophy heads. Others may depict leaders (political and religious) adorned with ornate headdresses and carrying official staffs. Others portray women in ritual attire or tending children.
ProvenanceBy 1908, collected in Colombia by Joaquin Arciniégas (b. 1865 - d. 1930), San José, Costa Rica and San Salvador, El Salvador; August 6, 1929, sold in San Salvador by Arciniégas to his brother-in-law, José Daniel Villatoro Rugama (b. 1887 - d. 1958), San Salvador; January 10, 1930, sold by Rugama to Oliverio Girondo (b. 1891 - d. 1967), Paris and Argentina. January 2, 1975, sold by Leon Buki (dealer), Buenos Aires, through Marcelo Buki, to Alphonse Jax (dealer), New York; 1975, sold by Alphonse Jax to the MFA. (Accession Date: March 12, 1975)
NOTE: The Arciniégas collection (MFA accession nos. 1975.35 - 1975.273) was offered to the Museum in 1975, accompanied by documentation of its ownership by Joaquin Arcienégas as early as 1908; photographs of it in the Arciniégas collection; and receipts for the collection’s sale in 1929 and 1930. Arciniégas had the collection in Costa Rica by 1908 and El Salvador by 1916; he asked his brother-in-law to sell the collection, and it was shipped to Paris for sale in December 1930/January 1931.
NOTE: The Arciniégas collection (MFA accession nos. 1975.35 - 1975.273) was offered to the Museum in 1975, accompanied by documentation of its ownership by Joaquin Arcienégas as early as 1908; photographs of it in the Arciniégas collection; and receipts for the collection’s sale in 1929 and 1930. Arciniégas had the collection in Costa Rica by 1908 and El Salvador by 1916; he asked his brother-in-law to sell the collection, and it was shipped to Paris for sale in December 1930/January 1931.