Restored by Chuna McIntyre (b. 1955, Central Yup'ik)

Dance Fans

Datec. 1870

MediumWood, swan feathers, duck tail feathers, snowy owl feathers, white, green and red pigment, pebbles

DimensionsOverall (a): 13 1/4 × 14 × 1 3/8 in. (33.7 × 35.6 × 3.5 cm) Overall (b): 19 1/2 × 19 × 1 3/8 in. (49.5 × 48.3 × 3.5 cm)

Object numberT0596a-b

Credit LineGift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw

Photograph by Richard Walker

Label TextDance fans are usually danced as a pair. These two sets of dance fans also acted as rattles. The face on each fan lifts off to reveal a hollowed area. McIntyre placed small round beach pebbles inside the cavity to give the fans a voice. Both sets of dance fans have dark duck feathers to contrast with white elements – swan feather or caribou fur. This creates a contrast of dark and light elements, a reference of the fundamental duality of the universe. The numeric ordering of three duck tail feathers and four swan feathers (or sprays of caribou fur) have cosmological symbolism.
Exhibition HistorySubstance of the Stars, Heard Museum, Pheonix, AZ, October 23, 2022 - April 23, 2024
ProvenanceUnidentified Jesuit missionary, Wheeling, West Virginia in 1870 or 1886; Diocese of Wheeling, Wheeling, West Virginia; Pacific Northwest Indian Center, Spokane, Washington; Robert L. Stolper, New York City and Munich, Germany; Andre Nasser, New York City
BibliographyVincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.438.

Fognell, Eva and Alexander Brier Marr, eds. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection at the Fenimore Art Museum, 2nd ed. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2016, p. 492.

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