ticketsMember | Make a donation

Zemí figure

1200–1500 CE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 360
This zemí image created out of a fine-grained sandstone was likely used as a stand in ceremonies performed at prescribed times throughout the year involving a vegetal entheogen known as cohoba. Creative sculptural expression for the Taíno peoples was intertwined with spirituality, ceremony, and political power. Spanish accounts describe how zemí figures were used as stands, reliquaries, or personal adornment. Zemí (or cemí) is a term used by Taíno peoples, the diverse societies that inhabited the Antilles archipelago before European contact, that linguistically relates to a quality akin to sweetness. Zemí refers not to an object or image but to an immaterial, spiritual, and vital force pertaining to deities and ancestors. There are several known zemí identities recorded by the Spanish, some of which have been linked to archaeological images.

A ground-up hallucinogenic powder or paste would be placed on the top of the stand, and ceremonial participants would inhale the cohoba through snuff tubes. The effects of such ritual acts are visible in the zemí itself: the emaciated look of the figure may represent someone who had been fasting, and widened eyes would have accompanied the inhalation of such substances.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Zemí figure
  • Artist: Taíno artist(s)
  • Date: 1200–1500 CE
  • Geography: Dominican Republic (?), Caribbean
  • Culture: Taíno
  • Medium: Stone (biocalcarenite)
  • Dimensions: H. 24 in. × W. 7 1/4 in. × D. 8 7/8 in. (61 × 18.4 × 22.5 cm)
  • Classification: Stone-Sculpture
  • Credit Line: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979
  • Object Number: 1979.206.1209
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Figure Pendant, Taíno artist(s), Stone, Taíno
Figure Pendant
Taíno artist(s)
13th–15th century
Zemí cohoba stand, Taíno artist(s), Guaiacum wood, shell, Taíno
Zemí cohoba stand
Taíno artist(s)
ca. 1000 CE
Guaíza, Taíno artist(s), Stone, Taíno
Guaíza
Taíno artist(s)
1200–1500 CE
Ceremonial axe, Taíno artist(s), Greenstone, Taíno
Ceremonial axe
Taíno artist(s)
600–1500 CE
Ceremonial axe, Taíno artist(s), Greenstone, Taíno
Ceremonial axe
Taíno artist(s)
600–1500 CE

Related Content

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.