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Raven Rattle
attributed to Albert Edward Edenshaw, 1812–1894
Haida
Haida Gwaii, BC
Haida
Haida Gwaii, BC
ca. 1840-60
wood, paint
length: 13 ½"
Inventory # N2024
Sold
acquired by the Diker Collection, now at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
PROVENANCE
Collected by Charles Beardmore, Hudson’s Bay Company, 19th century
Hooper Collection, London, UK
Christie's, London, UK, November 9, 1976, lot 184
John and Grace Putnam, Seattle, Washington
EXHIBITED
Box of Daylight, Seattle Art Museum, September 15, 1983 - January 8, 1984
Native Visions, Seattle Art Museum, February 19 - May 10, 1998
PUBLISHED
Bernstein, Bruce and McMaster, Gerald (eds). First American Art: The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection of American Indian Art. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2004, p. 49
Donald Ellis Gallery catalogue, 2001, pg. 13
Box of Daylight, Holm, University of Washington Press, 1984, pl. 17
Native Visions, Brown, University of Washington Press, 1998, pl. 4.38
Art and Artifacts of the Pacific, Africa and the Americas, Phelps, Hutchinson of London, 1976, pl. 1455
The Art of Primitive Peoples, Hooper and Burland, London, 1953, pl. 52(a)
RELATED EXAMPLE
Heye Foundation, New York, Cat. No. 16/292 - See: From the Land of the Totem Poles, Jonaitis, University of Washington Press, 1988 , pl. 25
Raven rattles were widely used along the northern Northwest Coast. Unlike rattles of globular form employed by shamans, their role was largely secular, forming an important component of a chief’s dance regalia. Relatively standardized in form, the stylized figural group carved on the raven’s back typically represents the transference of knowledge between the human and spiritual realms. On rare occasions, raven rattles may display unique variations from one artist to another. The magnificent example shown above exhibits a bear's head on a humanoid body, a highly unusual configuration thought to represent a shaman wearing a mask. The work of an esteemed master carver, the present raven rattle is one of the finest examples extant.