ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the early contact period of the Caribbean through the prism of a composite sculpture (the ‘Pigorini cemí’) dating from c. AD 1492–1524, which incorporates an indigenous belt and headdress or cap nailed to a sixteenth-century European wooden display mount. It is an inspired re-interpretation of traditional material culture via the incorporation of newly introduced ‘curios’ (both European and Caribbean), reflecting people’s perception of their place in a widening world on both sides of the Atlantic. Body ornaments – from indigenous cotton belts to Spanish fashions and armor – were one tangible means of investigating and incorporating the ‘other’ into expanded cultural frameworks. Deconstructing the sculpture into its key elements exposes possible stylistic and material introductions and influences, enabling an exploration of a legacy of shared meanings both in the Caribbean and in Europe. Despite the gulf that separated these cultures, there do appear to be commonalities, including enough shared understandings relating to dress and body ornament to facilitate conceptual and material transfers.
