Gift of Frances Pratt

Carved wood trays were used by ancient Andean people for the mixing of hallucinogenic snuff made from the pod seeds of the Anadenanthera tree. When inhaled through the nose with tubes, the snuff produced ecstatic trances that enabled shamans to communicate with spirits and ancestors. This carved snuff tray from northern Chile is decorated with two kneeling anthropomorphic foxes. The depressions in the eyes probably once held turquoise inlays. The figures’ pose and tunics decorated with incised designs suggest that they are supernatural beings.


Las tablillas de madera tallada eran usadas por los antiguos habitantes de los Andes para mezclar polvos alucinógenos hechos de las vainas y semillas del árbol Anadenanthera. Al inhalar a través de la nariz con tubos, el polvo producía trances extáticos que permitían al chamán comunicarse con espíritus y ancestros. Esta bandeja tallada para inhalar del Norte de Chile está decorada con dos figuras de zorros antropomórficos. Las depresiones en los ojos probablemente contenían incrustaciones de turquesa. La pose de las figuras y las túnicas decoradas con diseños incisos sugieren que se trata de seres sobrenaturales.

Frank Sherman Benson Fund and the Henry L. Batterman Fund

Gift of Julius Loester

Gift of Dr. Ernest Franco

Gift of Dr. Ernest Franco

Ella C. Woodward Memorial Fund

Ella C. Woodward Memorial Fund

Ella C. Woodward Memorial Fund

Ella C. Woodward Memorial Fund