The zemi consists of a wooden frame covered by crocheted cotton embellished with green and blue beads of European glass and disks of Caribbean shell and seeds. The figure's brown face, carved from the horn of an African rhinoceros, has curly black hair and white shell eyes with dark pupils. The skeletal face has large hollow eyes inlaid with sheets of native gold and mirrors of Venetian glass. Mirrors also decorate the circular ear spools. A full-sized beaded belt emblazoned with Taíno designs encircles the base. Another belt, probably made by the same artist, is now in the Museum für Völkerkunde, Vienna. Both the beaded zemi and the belt attest to a vibrant but vanished ancient tradition of woven and beaded textiles with geometric motifs.

The use of imported materials and the incorporation of African stylistic conventions indicate that the zemi was made about 1515, after the Taíno had come into contact both with Europeans and with the West African slaves who worked their colonial plantations and goldfields. The valuable components and exquisite workmanship of the zemi suggest that it was made for a high-ranking cacique by a master Taíno artist. Forcefully conceived and elegantly crafted, it combines ideas and materials from three distinct cultures together into a stunningly original work of art. The beaded zemi heralds a new phase in Caribbean art and culture and reflects a multicultural sensibility that persists to this day.