George C. Brackett Fund

Border fragment woven in camelid fiber with camelid embroidery. The imagery stands out against the light tan plain weave background. Represented are two figures with monkey feet, serrated legs, and a feline mask. The figures float in reverse directions and hold streamers of beans and staffs decorated with tuber-like plants. A border of this type would have been part of a mantle or poncho.

Alfred W. Jenkins Fund

Mummy mask of woven cotton, filled with cotton padding, and painted with features of the Oculate Being, two felines, and three double-headed snakes. Size: adult. Probable wearer: likely male. Vertical cotton warp. Cotton weft. Plain weave, predominantly warp-faced. Pigments with binding medium, hand-drawn.

Museum Expedition 1938, Dick S. Ramsay Fund

Museum Expedition 1938, Dick S. Ramsay Fund

Museum Expedition 1938, Dick S. Ramsay Fund

Gift of Dr. Werner Muensterberger

Shortly after Britain seized Jamaica from Spain in 1655, local workshops began manufacturing two uniquely Caribbean types of decorative art objects: costly tortoiseshell boxes and comb sets. These luxury goods were typically made for a British market as either souvenirs or exotic gifts from the islands. They were often engraved with Jamaica’s new coat of arms, which included an indigenous Arawak man and woman (see illustration), and evocations of the island’s abundant natural resources.


Poco después de que los ingleses incautaran Jamaica a España en 1655, los talleres locales comenzaron a producir dos tipos de objetos decorativos únicos del Caribe: costosas cajas de carey y juegos de peines. Estos bienes de lujo se fabricaban generalmente para el mercado británico como recuerdos de viajes o regalos exóticos de las islas. Frecuentemente se grababan con el nuevo escudo de armas de Jamaica, que incluía un hombre y una mujer indígenas arawak (ver ilustración) e ilustraciones de los abundantes recursos naturales de las islas.

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Cedric H. Marks