Object is from Yakutat Tlingit, Port Mulgrave, per Anthropology catalogue ledger book and Dall's field catalogue, filed under Accession No. 3258, entry under # 1157.

From card: "Ceremonial sheet copper mask used in mortuary ceremonies (killing of slaves.) Inset of nacred abalone shell as eyes & teeth held in position by rivit copper support strips on inside of mask. Skull cover of bear hide attached to top and sides of copper with cord and copper rivets. Design on crescentic extention at the sides near top indicate shoulders. On cheeks indicating ear thus [drawing] ... 9/12/1966 after removal of oxide in the Anthropology Conservation Lab, what appear to be fabric impressions are now visible on the mask surface. This specimen was purchased from the Nugget Shop Inc., - Curio dealers, jewelers, and opticians, Juneau, Alaska, June 1926, Comment: Robert Simpson, Mgr. ...'The mask originally came from Yakutat, I have forgotten the name of the native who brought it in, but it is a genuine article and is probably the only one in existence. It is the finest specimen of Tlingit copper craftsmanship I have ever seen. These were worn by the medicine men at their various ceremonies and particularly when they killed the slaves at the potlatches.' Loaned: Osaka Expo-70, July 1969 - Jan. 1971, and returned 12-7-1970." See BAE 46th Annual Report, p. 34, where acquisition of this artifact is discussed.Illustrated Fig. 15, p. 95, and discussed pp. 92-93 in Lenz, Mary Jane, 2004, "No Tourist Material: George Heye & His Golden Rule," American Indian Art Magazine, 29(4):86-95, 105.This object is on loan to the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, from 2010 through 2027.From 2008 Anthropology Conservation Lab treatment report by Kim Cullen Cobb: Copper shaman's mask in the shape of a bear's head with fur sewn to back. The mask is fabricated from sheet copper that has been shaped into a deep concavity, likely by sinking - or hammering - the copper into a concave surface. The anatomical features of eyes, nose, mouth and brow ridges have been emphasized by repousse and chasing. Chased lines define eyebrows, eyes and nose, and chased symbols have been worked into the ears and cheeks. Abalone shell has been inserted into holes in the eye and mouth area to describe eyes and teeth. A backing of copper sheet, riveted to the back of the mask in the area of the eyes and mouth, holds the abalone elements in place. Bear hide is attached to the back of the mask; the hide is sewn with twisted sinew to the edges of the mask at the top and sides through holes drilled through the copper sheet; the hide is also riveted to the brow of the mask using copper rivets. There is a seam down the center back of the hide.

From card: "Coiled. Has four alternating horizontal colored band of dark brown and yellow with triangular designs on yellow bands. Constricted neck. Lide with rattling pellets. (11/1963) Split in two places around the shoulder."In correspondence from the donor in the accession file, she indicates she was told this basket was 25 years old in 1904.

Provenience note: E130624 - 6 were all collected in the summer of 1888 on the cruise of the U.S. Fish Commission steamer Albatross to Alaska. The list of collections in the accession file identifies Original # 2016, Catalogue # E130624, as collected at Yakutat Bay, Alaska.

FROM CARD: "CRUDELY CARVED OF CEDAR WOOD, ONE FIGURE ON TOP OF OTHER. LOWER ONE A SEATED HUMAN FIGURE WITH A FACE CARVED ON THE BACK OF ITS HEAD, UPPER ONE STANDING ON TOP OF THE LOWER HOLDING A LIZARD-LIKE ANIMAL IN FRONT OF ITS TORSO, HAS A CROWN WITH UPSTANDING ELEMENTS."