Ladle

Datec. 1750

DimensionsOverall: 9 1/2 × 6 3/4 in. (24.1 × 17.1 cm)

Object numberT0032

Credit LineGift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw

Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC

Label TextThe human figure, holding up a rum keg while sitting atop the short handle, is a magnificent example of Wyandot effigy carving in the mid-18th century. After the defeat of the Wendat (Huron) by the Haudenosaunee in 1649, many refugees fled west, to wander in the region of the upper Great Lakes. They came to be known as the Wyandot, a corruption of Wendat, the name used by the Wendat for themselves. In 1702, the Wyandot settled in teh Detroit area, expanding into northern Ohio soon after. The theme of drinking from a keg is known from an effigy pipe bowl in the British Museum, at least two effigy pipe bowls of documented Wyandot origin in the National Museum of the American Indian, a wooden effigy pipe bowl in the collection of the Donald D. Jones in Kansas city, and from a surprisingly similar effigy ladle attributed to the Mohawk in the Philbrook Museum of Art (cf. Dockstader 1962, figs. 237 and 240; King 1977, p. 20, no. 37, p. 36, p. 50, pl. 13; Wade 1986, p. 165, fig.143). The last was apparently acquired among the population of Wyandot and Haudenosaunee peoples in the northeastern part of Oklahoma. The rum keg in these effigies probably refers to the role of rum consumption in teh annual ceremonies of the White Panther cult among the Wyandot. The shamanistic cult was devoted to the worship of Ontarraoura, the giant pantherlike dragon ruler of the Underworld. The ceremonial use of rum provided its members with visionary experiences. (From the Catalog of the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 2nd ed.)
Exhibition History"Art Des Indiens D'Amerique Du Nord Dans La Collection D'Eugene Thaw," Mona Bismarck Foundation, Paris, France, Somogy Editions D'Art, January 21, 2000 - March 18, 2000.

"Turkey River: Native American Art of the Ohio Country, Canton Museum of Art," Canton, OH, August 22, 2003 - October 26, 2003.

"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.
ProvenancePrivate Collection, Massachusetts; Sotheby's 1982, lot 132, New York City; Andre Nasser, New York City
BibliographySotheby's, October 23, 1982, Sale 4943, Lot. 132.

Vincent, Gilbert T. Masterpieces of American Indian Art. New York: Harry Abrams, 1995, p.23.

Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.60.

Brasser, Theodore. Native American Clothing: An Illustrated History Buffalo, New York: Firefly Books, 2009. p. 78 - 79.

Perriot, Francoise, and Slim Batteux, trans. Arts des Indiens d'Amerique du Nord: Dans la Collection d'Eugene et Clare Thaw. Paris, Somogy editions d'Art, 1999, p. 31, fig. 18.

Fognell, Eva, ed. Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2010, p. 41.

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. 28.

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