Exhibit Label

Tlingit artists of the late nineteenth century often rendered the creatures of crest art as silhouetted figures. Rather than constructing the animal of interconnected formline patterns, their salient features were detailed with formline elements, such as the ovoid joints of flipper and tail. This stout killer whale is an excellent example of this style. The configuration is unusual, but not unique, with the two halves of the split whale joined at the tail, and the heads coming together on each side of the double-hook clasp. Sure, bold engraving delineates the various parts: the broad pectoral fin with its clawlike divisions, the downturned dorsal fin, and the spread flukes. Ovoid joints and eyes are absolutely uniform in their rounded, arched form - an indication of an artist whose style is mature and individualized. (Holm, Box of Daylight, 1983).