Wooden Helmet, Bird Figure

Item number E20883-0 from the National Museum of Natural History.

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Notes

FROM CARD: "CARVED FROM THE SOLID, WITH EXCEPTION OF TIP OF DOWN CURVED BEAK. TRACES OF VERMILLION, ALSO OF A GRAPHITE-LIKE PAINT. NEG. NO. 43,229-C (FRONT) 43,229-E (PROFILE-RIGHT SIDE) 43,229-D (BOTTOM) NEG. NO. 8374, LOANED TO THE S.I. CENTENNIAL COMM. 7-9-75. LOAN RETURNED MAR 22 1990." FROM 19TH OR EARLY 20TH CENTURY EXHIBIT LABEL WITH CARD: "HEAD-DRESS.---CARVED FROM SOLID BLOCK OF CEDAR WOOD INTO A CONICAL HELMET SURMOUNTED BY AN EAGLE'S HEAD. WOOD STAINED BLACK. ON SIDES ARE RUDELY CARVED WINGS, AND UNDER HEAD IS CARVED A RUDE REPRESENTATION OF HEAD AND FRONT PAWS OF A YOUNG BEAR. HOLLOWED OUT ON UNDER SIDE TO FIT HEAD OF WEARER. WORN IN NATIVE DANCES BY HAIDAH INDIANS AT KLEMMAKOAN VILLAGE, SOUTHWEST PART OF PRINCE OF WALES ARCHIPELAGO. OUTER DIAM., 12 INS. INNER DIAM., 8 1/4 INS. HEIGHT, 12 INS. PRINCE OF WALES ARCHIPELAGO, 1876. 20,883. COLLECTED BY J. G. SWAN." See p. 206-207 in Wright, Robin Kathleen. 2001. Northern Haida master carvers. Seattle: University of Washington Press. Wright identifies this object as having been collected by James G. Swan from Duncan ginaawaan at Klinkwan in 1875.This object is on loan to the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, from 2010 through 2027.Source of the information below: Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Alaska Native Collections: Sharing Knowledge website, by Aron Crowell, entry on this artifact http://alaska.si.edu/record.asp?id=531 , retrieved 6-24-2012: Helmet An eagle's head and wings give form to this battle helmet, on which a round-eyed spirit peers out from beneath the beak. The helmet was formerly owned by Chief Duncan Ginaawaan at Klinkwan. A Haida fighter dressed for battle in a helmet, wooden visor for his face and neck, a vest and lower body armor made of tightly bound wooden slats or rods, and a thick leather tunic. His weapons were a dagger, club, bow, or spear and in later times a musket or rifle.

Item History

What

Name
Wooden Helmet, Bird Figure
Identification Number
E20883-0
Type of Item
helmet

Where

Holding Institution
National Museum of Natural History
Made in
Klinkwan, Prince Of Wales Island, Alaska, USA
Collected in
Klinkwan, Prince Of Wales Island, Alaska, USA

Who

Culture
Haida
Field Collector
James G. Swan

When

Collection Date
during 1875
Acquisition Date
during 1876

Other

Accession Number
004730

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