Skip to main content
The frontal orientation of this piece is a little out of the ordinary for a rattle, and is more on the order of the arrangement of such a figure on a totem pole; upright and facing forward. Perhaps the carver took his inspiration from a particular family monument or tradition. Emmons identifies the image as "an eagle sitting on the top of a tree," though it is not clear whether the description comes from the object's Native owner or is an attributions by the collector himself. Without knowing the commissioning owner's history, the image of the bird alone is somewhat ambiguous, as the representation of the head and beak could be that of a raven, owl (a less common emblem), or a number of other small birds that are also part of the clan emblem tradition. The wide and rounded shape of the head suggests an owl while the beak is nearly straight, which could be merely the result of conceptual foreshortening to avoid the fragility of a longer beak in this woodgrain orientation. The bird's position certainly recalls that of an owl perched upright on a limb.
The flat-design element of the wings and tail is of medium-weight formlines with minimal secondary-color design development and small negative areas. This style points to an early-19th century creation but alone does not reveal the specific tribal origins. The face of the bird is defined by sculptural relationships that are most commonly seen in Northern or Kaigani Haida work, as well as Tlingit style carving. The parallel-line dashing in blue and red on the black formlines of the wings and back is occasionally seen in all the northern-coast styles, but is perhaps used most frequently in the work from the Coast Tsimshian region. (From the Catalog of the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 2nd ed.)
ProvenanceCollected by Lt. George T. Emmons; Milwaukee Public Museum, Wisconsin (7321/3084), catalogued 1911, deaccessioned 1962; Bernard Brown, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; George Terasaki, New York City; Marie-Elaine D'Udekem D'Acoz, New York City
BibliographyVincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.387.
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. 432.
Rattle
Date1840-1870
DimensionsOverall: 9 1/2 × 2 3/4 × 2 1/4 in. (24.1 × 7 × 5.7 cm)
Object numberT0204
Credit LineLoan from the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust
Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC
Label TextLt. George T. Emmons collected this object in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, and identified it as Haida in origin. Northern Northwest Coast styles overlap, however, particularly near the borders between First Nations, where reciprocal influences are brought about by interaction. This delicate rattle could also have been made by a Tlingit or Coast Tsimshian artist, or possibly an Alaskan Kaigani Haida. Facial proportions, eye and eyelid shapes, sculptural conception of the facial planes and their relationships, all tend to reveal the local conventions under which individual artists acquired their experience, and which have, in turn, influenced what becomes expressed as their style.The frontal orientation of this piece is a little out of the ordinary for a rattle, and is more on the order of the arrangement of such a figure on a totem pole; upright and facing forward. Perhaps the carver took his inspiration from a particular family monument or tradition. Emmons identifies the image as "an eagle sitting on the top of a tree," though it is not clear whether the description comes from the object's Native owner or is an attributions by the collector himself. Without knowing the commissioning owner's history, the image of the bird alone is somewhat ambiguous, as the representation of the head and beak could be that of a raven, owl (a less common emblem), or a number of other small birds that are also part of the clan emblem tradition. The wide and rounded shape of the head suggests an owl while the beak is nearly straight, which could be merely the result of conceptual foreshortening to avoid the fragility of a longer beak in this woodgrain orientation. The bird's position certainly recalls that of an owl perched upright on a limb.
The flat-design element of the wings and tail is of medium-weight formlines with minimal secondary-color design development and small negative areas. This style points to an early-19th century creation but alone does not reveal the specific tribal origins. The face of the bird is defined by sculptural relationships that are most commonly seen in Northern or Kaigani Haida work, as well as Tlingit style carving. The parallel-line dashing in blue and red on the black formlines of the wings and back is occasionally seen in all the northern-coast styles, but is perhaps used most frequently in the work from the Coast Tsimshian region. (From the Catalog of the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 2nd ed.)
ProvenanceCollected by Lt. George T. Emmons; Milwaukee Public Museum, Wisconsin (7321/3084), catalogued 1911, deaccessioned 1962; Bernard Brown, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; George Terasaki, New York City; Marie-Elaine D'Udekem D'Acoz, New York City
BibliographyVincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.387.
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. 432.
On View
Not on view
