Dagger Hilt

Date1800-1840

MediumWalrus ivory, iron band, later iron screw

DimensionsOverall: 4 × 1 × 1 1/2 in. (10.2 × 2.5 × 3.8 cm)

Object numberT0190

Credit LineLoan from the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust

Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC

Label TextWalrus ivory has been an important medium for Northwest Coast artists for a very long time. This exquisitely modeled dagger hilt with its tiny, delicate figures has the same visual impact as monumental totem poles. It depicts a bear surmounted by a human whose head rests atop the bear’s and whose arms extend through his ears. The bear holds a frog in its mouth and forefeet. The blending of two figures in the same artistic space, a hallmark of Northwest Coast art, can be interpreted to symbolize their spiritual interrelationship.
Exhibition History"Art of the American Indian: The Thaw Collection," The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, March 2, 2010 - May 30, 2010; Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minneapolis, MN, October 24, 2010 - January 9, 2011; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, April 24, 2011 - September 23, 2011; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN, December 4, 2011 - February 12, 2012.
ProvenanceJonathan Holstein, Cazenovia, New York
BibliographyVincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.338.

Grambo, Rebecca L. Bear: A Celebration of Power and Beauty. Burlington, Vermont: Verve, 2000, p.119.

Fognell, Eva, ed. Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2010, p. 139.

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Not on view