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This finely-conceived mask appears to be of the shaman's spirit type, and is an early and expertly-made example. The lip plug or labret indicates a female personage of high social rank, and these wooden ornaments were worn by women of this stature up until the end of the 19th century. The facial paintings in blue and red are probably connected to the particular identity of this spirit-being, though the specific information apparently has not survived. The slightly raised eyebrows are painted red, overlaid with black dashing, which is an unusual combination in Tlingit work.
The smoothly polished surface of the wood flows over the naturalistic forms of the nose, cheeks, mouth, and chin, while the forehead and eyesockets follow more stylized conventions. The wide lower lip tightly encloses the labret, while the minimal upper lip remains open to reveal a carved double row of teeth. The style and workmanship of this mask are comparable to some of the earliest Tlingit shaman's masks collected in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and this mask is most likely from the same period. (From the Catalog of the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 2nd ed.)
ProvenanceLeonard M. Lasser, Windsor, Connecticut; George Terasaki, New York City
BibliographyLasser, Leonard. Art of the Northwest Coast Indian from the Lasser Collection. Boston, MA: Mirski's Gallery, 1972, n.p. AIAM 12, no. 2 (Spring 1987), p. 1.
Advertisement for George Terasaki. American Indian Art Magazine. Vol.12, No.2, (Spring 1987):1.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.384.
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. 425.
Culture
Tlingit
Mask
Date1830-1850
DimensionsOverall: 9 × 6 5/8 × 4 in. (22.9 × 16.8 × 10.2 cm)
Object numberT0213
Credit LineLoan from the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust
Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC
Label TextMost Tlingit masks were the property of shamans (known as Ixt' in Tlingit) and represented various spirits that assisted them in making cures, each with unique characteristics and painted facial designs. Lt. G.T. Emmons recorded the names of a great variety of nature spirits and spirits of human personalities who assist shamans in the manipulation of the spiritual influences that manifest illness in their patients. Once the interfering spirit-presence was found and removed or destroyed, the patient's own revitalized immune system would be able to recover to a balanced state. Other Tlingit face masks were made to represent people and animals that figured in mythology and clan history, and were used in performances of dance and drama.This finely-conceived mask appears to be of the shaman's spirit type, and is an early and expertly-made example. The lip plug or labret indicates a female personage of high social rank, and these wooden ornaments were worn by women of this stature up until the end of the 19th century. The facial paintings in blue and red are probably connected to the particular identity of this spirit-being, though the specific information apparently has not survived. The slightly raised eyebrows are painted red, overlaid with black dashing, which is an unusual combination in Tlingit work.
The smoothly polished surface of the wood flows over the naturalistic forms of the nose, cheeks, mouth, and chin, while the forehead and eyesockets follow more stylized conventions. The wide lower lip tightly encloses the labret, while the minimal upper lip remains open to reveal a carved double row of teeth. The style and workmanship of this mask are comparable to some of the earliest Tlingit shaman's masks collected in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and this mask is most likely from the same period. (From the Catalog of the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 2nd ed.)
ProvenanceLeonard M. Lasser, Windsor, Connecticut; George Terasaki, New York City
BibliographyLasser, Leonard. Art of the Northwest Coast Indian from the Lasser Collection. Boston, MA: Mirski's Gallery, 1972, n.p. AIAM 12, no. 2 (Spring 1987), p. 1.
Advertisement for George Terasaki. American Indian Art Magazine. Vol.12, No.2, (Spring 1987):1.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.384.
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. 425.
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