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Exhibition History"Spirits of the Water: Native Art Collected on Expeditions to Alaska & British Columbia," Foundation la Caixa, Barcelona, January 1, 2000 - December 31, 2000.
"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.
ProvenanceGeorge Terasaki (48), New York City
BibliographyBrown, Steven C. "From Taquan to Klukwan: Tracing the Work of an Early Tlingit Master Artist." In Faces, Voices, and Dreams. Edited by Peter Corey. Juneau: Division of Alaska State Museums and the Friends of the Alaska State Museum, 1987, p. 173, cat. no. 138.
Wardwell, Allen. Tangible Visions: Northwest Coast Indian Shamanism and its Art. New York: The Monacelli Press, 1996. pg. 183, no. 235.
"New Acquisitions for Fenimore's Thaw Collection." Antiques and the Arts Weekly 30 March 2001, p.14.
"Tenth Anniversary of the Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 1995-2005" in Heritage magazine, 2005, vol 20. pg. 10.
Brown, Steven C. Transfigurations: North Pacific Coast Art George Terasaki Collector. Seattle: Marquand Books, 2006, plate 63.
Fognell, Eva, ed. Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2010, p. 139.
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. 413.
Culture
Tlingit
Amulet
Datec. 1730-1830
MediumSperm whale tooth
DimensionsOverall: 2 × 5 3/4 in. (5.1 × 14.6 cm)
Object numberT0790
Credit LineLoan from the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust
Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC
Label TextShamans wore powerful amulets around their necks and when tending the ill, held them against the patient’s afflicted area to remove the malevolent cause of a sickness. To undertake such spiritual activities as healing, shamans journeyed to the land of the dead. This amulet depicts a shaman and other figures traveling across the border between life and death on a style of boat called a head canoe. Because of their interactions with the spiritual world, shamans were respected and feared.Exhibition History"Spirits of the Water: Native Art Collected on Expeditions to Alaska & British Columbia," Foundation la Caixa, Barcelona, January 1, 2000 - December 31, 2000.
"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.
ProvenanceGeorge Terasaki (48), New York City
BibliographyBrown, Steven C. "From Taquan to Klukwan: Tracing the Work of an Early Tlingit Master Artist." In Faces, Voices, and Dreams. Edited by Peter Corey. Juneau: Division of Alaska State Museums and the Friends of the Alaska State Museum, 1987, p. 173, cat. no. 138.
Wardwell, Allen. Tangible Visions: Northwest Coast Indian Shamanism and its Art. New York: The Monacelli Press, 1996. pg. 183, no. 235.
"New Acquisitions for Fenimore's Thaw Collection." Antiques and the Arts Weekly 30 March 2001, p.14.
"Tenth Anniversary of the Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 1995-2005" in Heritage magazine, 2005, vol 20. pg. 10.
Brown, Steven C. Transfigurations: North Pacific Coast Art George Terasaki Collector. Seattle: Marquand Books, 2006, plate 63.
Fognell, Eva, ed. Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2010, p. 139.
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. 413.
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