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The ivory amulet employed for the head appears to have been adapted from a previous use. It probably was once part of a full necklace of such charms, each suspended by a drilled hole at one end. The carved profile of this piece is sleek and wolf-like, though the design could represent any manner of shaman's spirit image. On its back, the creature carries a tiny human, possibly the shaman traveling on a spirit journey. The carving of this animal and human image seems to have been conceptually overlaid on an earlier surface treatment. The worn remains of nucleated circles and trigons from another time randomly mark the surface, carved partially away where they intersect the more deeply-relieved portions of the succeeding design. The carving of the amulet was done by a sure-handed and skilled artist, showing clean relief, dynamic lines, and a lively sense of animation. (From the Catalog of the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 2nd ed.)
ProvenanceWolfgang Paalen, Mexico City, Mexico; Ralph Altman, Los Angeles, California; Taylor Museum (5108), Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1954
BibliographyInverarity, Robert Bruce. Art of the Northwest Coast Indians. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1950, pl.120, Wolfgang Paalen.
Gunther, Erna, Indians of the Northwest Coast. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 1951, not ill.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.375.
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. 420.
Culture
Tlingit
Rattle
Date1820-1860
DimensionsOverall: 4 1/2 × 9 1/2 in. (11.4 × 24.1 cm)
Object numberT0217
Credit LineLoan from the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust
Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC
Label TextAn unusual object about which no known history appears to exist, this copper and ivory rattle is likely the only one of its kind ever made. Perhaps the result of a particular shaman's vision, the profile and general form of a wooden oystercatcher rattle has been imitated by a copper body with a carved ivory amulet tied in place, analogous to the rattle's head and beak shape. The result is a striking and intriguing object.The ivory amulet employed for the head appears to have been adapted from a previous use. It probably was once part of a full necklace of such charms, each suspended by a drilled hole at one end. The carved profile of this piece is sleek and wolf-like, though the design could represent any manner of shaman's spirit image. On its back, the creature carries a tiny human, possibly the shaman traveling on a spirit journey. The carving of this animal and human image seems to have been conceptually overlaid on an earlier surface treatment. The worn remains of nucleated circles and trigons from another time randomly mark the surface, carved partially away where they intersect the more deeply-relieved portions of the succeeding design. The carving of the amulet was done by a sure-handed and skilled artist, showing clean relief, dynamic lines, and a lively sense of animation. (From the Catalog of the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 2nd ed.)
ProvenanceWolfgang Paalen, Mexico City, Mexico; Ralph Altman, Los Angeles, California; Taylor Museum (5108), Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1954
BibliographyInverarity, Robert Bruce. Art of the Northwest Coast Indians. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1950, pl.120, Wolfgang Paalen.
Gunther, Erna, Indians of the Northwest Coast. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 1951, not ill.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.375.
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. 420.
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