Carved & Painted Mask

Item number E74337-0 from the National Museum of Natural History.

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Notes

Provenience note: collection apparently purchased or collected by McLean in Sitka and vicinity circa 1884.From card: "Carved & painted mask, with squid coronet. Carved from the solid. Unpainted except for green on facial features and crest. Wood used, presumably cedar or spruce. Tufts of hair pegged into crest symbolizing an octopus extending over crown from ear to ear. Cut sections of furred skin pegged and glued to upper lip and chin to represent moustaches and beard, also above eyes representing eyebrows (all now gone)."Florence Sheakley, elder, made the following comments during the Tlingit Recovering Voices Community Research Visit, March 13-March 24, 2017. This object features an octopus design, a symbol belonging to a group in Sitka. It has eyes made of copper.