Lime Dipper with Anthropomorphic Finial

100 BCE–800 CE
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Lime powder, made from seashells, is a catalyst for the alkaloids in the coca leaf, which produces a mild psychoactive effect when chewed, a ritual practice in the Andes. This lime dipper (palillo), used to extract the powder from its container, depicts a figure with a nose shaped like an eagle’s beak. Wearing circular earspools and a semicircular headdress with curvilinear motifs, the figure holds a staff and a fan.  



Este palillo de cal, excavado de una necrópolis en 1922, representa una figura con una nariz en forma de pico de águila. La figura lleva puestas orejeras y un tocado semicircular con motivos curvilíneos, y sostiene un bastón y un abanico. El palillo fue fundido por etapas, dando lugar a una superficie multicolor. Las hojas de coca generan un suave efecto psicodélico; la mascada de estas hojas es una práctica ritual andina. Esta cal, hecha de conchas de caracoles, es un catalizador para los alcaloides en la hoja de coca. Estaba contenida en un poporo, y los palillos servían para extraerla.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Lime Dipper with Anthropomorphic Finial
  • Date: 100 BCE–800 CE
  • Geography: Colombia, Quindío
  • Culture: Calima-Yotoco
  • Medium: Gold, copper
  • Dimensions: H. 8 7/8 × W. 13/16 in. (22.6 × 2.1 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork-Implements
  • Credit Line: Museo del Oro, Banco de la República, Bogotá (O06432)
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing