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HOME :
Pre-Columbian Art :
Art of the United States : Hopewell Green Slate Ceremonial Sickle
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Hopewell Green Slate Ceremonial Sickle - PF.0330
Origin: The Mississipi Valley, USA
Circa: 200
BC
to 200
AD
Dimensions:
14.625" (37.1cm) high
x 7.5" (19.1cm) wide
Catalogue: V1
Collection: Pre-Columbian
Medium: Slate
Location: United States
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| Description |
Around 100 B.C. the Hopewell people
settled in
the northern woodlands. By the first
century A.D.
their culture had flourished,
influencing a wide
area as far as the lower Mississippi.
The society
of the Hopewell, as well as other
tribes, were
essentially hierarchical--comprising a
chief,
ruling elite and high ranking shamans;
all of
whom required specialized objects for
domestic
and ritual use. This beautiful sickle
was intended
as a ceremonial tool, perhaps used to
"duplicate"
in ceremony the larger axes used in
battle or
agriculture. This impliment takes the
form of a
gentle arch with three protruding
"blades." Its
form and perfect balance attests to the
carver's
expertise in working with stone
instruments.
There is such elegance in this sickle it
almost
seems to be a result of an act of
nature; though
we can readily see the experienced hand
of an
artist who created something of power
for the
sake of his gods
- (PF.0330)
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