Effigy Chairs from the Temple of Holmeek

Object/Artifact

-

The Civilization of Llhuros

EFFIGY CHAIRS FROM THE TEMPLE OF HOLMEEK | circa1966-71 | Photo by Ann Cady, 2024 | ©2025 Norman Daly Art: Discovered as a group, the large, stylized chairs with curved seats are each painted in a different muted color including dark gray, golden, red, and light gray. They are adorned, for example, by netting and a seashell and a wooden tong-like object. The chairs are arranged to create an intriguing visual effect against a neutral gray background.They appear weathered, suggesting antiquity.
EFFIGY CHAIRS FROM THE TEMPLE OF HOLMEEK | circa1966-71 | Photo by Ann Cady, 2024 | ©2025 Norman Daly Art

Discovered as a group, the large, stylized chairs with curved seats are each painted in a different muted color including dark gray, golden, red, and light gray. They are adorned, for example, by netting and a seashell and a wooden tong-like object. The chairs are arranged to create an intriguing visual effect against a neutral gray background.They appear weathered, suggesting antiquity.

Name/Title

Effigy Chairs from the Temple of Holmeek

Entry/Object ID

COL.96

Description

The chairs were carried empty in the actual procession honoring the god Holmeek; the mad Temple Virgins occupied the chairs only during the climax of the ceremony. The chairs were individually decorated as fetishes by the Temple Virgins whose minds and bodies were ravaged during their imprisonment in the months between annual festivities. Surface damage has taken place over the past decades. (see COL.95 - Miniature Model of the Temple of Holmeek)

Category

Decline, Sividian, Houndee

Made/Created

Artist

Norman Daly

Date made

circa 1966 - 1971

Place

Academic Institution

Cornell University

City

Ithaca, New York

Continent

North America

Ethnography

Cultural Region

Region

Asia Minor

Culture/Tribe

Llhuros

Dimensions

Height

57-7/8 in

Width

20-13/16 in

Materials

Material

Viiben vertbrae and Pruii bird skin

Material Notes

Fictional medium as described by Norman Daly in the catalog and exhibition tags (1972-2019)

Acquisition

Notes

This object is a unique element of the "Civilization of Llhuros" collection given to the Cornell University Anthropology Collaboratory in 2025.

Exhibitions

Akron Art Institute (1972)
Cornell University | A.D. White Museum of Art (1972)
Indianapolis Art Museum (1972)
Memorial Art Gallery | University of Rochester (1972)
Roberson Center for Art and Science, Binghamton, NY (1974)
Romische-Germanisches Museum | "Projekt '74" | Cologne Germany (1974)
SUNY Albany | Art Gallery (1973}
University of Pennsylvania Art Museum, Philadelphia (1974)
University of Pennsylvania--Institute of Contemporary Art (1980)