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Tairona

Masked Figurine with Boar Headdress, Possibly an Ocarina (Whistle)

c. 1300
Ceramic and pigment

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

To this day in Tairona communities, masked individuals dance, personifying the deified forces and phenomena of nature. This act associates the annual round of social and economic activities with the natural world’s cycle of death, fertility, and renewal.

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