Bequest of W.S. Morton Mead

Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund

Headdress frontlet with a wooden bear crest, set within a frame, and painted red, green, and black. The back is unpainted. The frame as well as the bear's eyes, teeth, and paws have inlaid sections of carved abalone shell. Long ermine trailers hang down the back and sea lion whiskers stick out from the top. The headdress would have been worn for a Welcome or Peace Dance. The face's thick, heavy, black eyebrows help to corroborate this attribution. A fistful of eagle down feathers would be placed inside the center of the frontlet. As the chief danced and bowed and greeted his audience, the feathers would float out of his headdress symbolizing peace and friendship. In Tshimshian this was known as Am-halait or "power from the Sky." CONDITION: The object is in fair and stable condition. Special care in handling the piece should be taken for it was treated with arsenic in the past.

Museum Expedition 1904, Museum Collection Fund

By exchange

Softly woven wool weaving with yellow, orange, cream, brown and green on a red ground. Each end has a green stripe. The design is not symetrical but it consists of zigzag lines, stepped diamonds, crosses and hourglass forms. The ends are finished with overcast red yarn, the sides finished with overcast green yarn. The weaving has a small tag safety pinned to one corner--"Rug#3" "3." which was on when given by donor. There are three red yarn loops on one end as if it once hung on a wall. Condition: Good. Colors vivid and bright on obverse and reverse. One end has a very loose area of weaving in the center of the pale green stripe.

Bird Stones: A Mystery

Bird stones have been found from Nova Scotia down along the Eastern Seaboard and as far west as the Mississippi River. There are many theories about their function. Were they charms associated with religion? Were they fastened to clothing to indicate status or stage of life? Were they ancient game pieces or handles for a spear thrower (atlatl)? All bird stones are carved from exceptional types of hard stone, and the quantity of surviving examples indicates that they were quite popular.

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Blum

By exchange

These are two very finely made square-toed snowshoes. Red Stroud cloth was used under the edge of the webbing along the sides of the snowshoes. Red and black tufts of yarn decorate the edges. The webbing is painted red in the two end sections and black in the center.