Pair of hide moccasins with designs in moose hair tufting, dyed in shades of bright green and red and placed to make flowers, leaves and stems. Around the opening of the moccasin is a ring of brown fur. Beneath and on the sides of the heel are panels of red felt. The upper inside toe is lined with heavy cotton. One moccasin has worn through at the heel, the other is worn through at the ball of the foot.

This Maya effigy vessel depicts the head and torso of a hunchback human figure wearing a full jaguar-skin costume. Small teeth are visible near the fangs, and hands appear above the paws. Hunchbacks and dwarves were highly respected among the Maya, frequently serving as attendants to rulers. Like the jaguar-skinned dancers depicted on cylindrical vessels, this figure may be impersonating the God of the Underworld, with the scarf around his neck symbolizing human sacrifice and death.


Esta vasija efigie Maya representa la cabeza y torso de una figura humana jorobada vestida completamente con la piel de un jaguar. Pequeños dientes son visibles al lado de los colmillos, y manos aparecen sobre las garras. Los jorobados y enanos eran muy respetados entre los Maya, frecuentemente sirviendo como asistentes de los gobernantes. Como los danzantes vestidos con piel de jaguar representados en vasijas cilíndricas, esta figura puede estar imitando al Dios del Inframundo, con el pañuelo alrededor de su cuello simbolizando sacrificio humano y muerte.

Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc.

Northwest Coast wooden house model with peaked roof; house frontal totem pole with circular entrance doorway in front. Interior empty / undecorated. Four carved killer whales formerly decorated the front roof line, though one has subsequently become detached. Painted designs in black and red on front and both sides, including killer whale motifs. Has been attributed as possibly Haida? No catalog number visible on artifact, which has also been checked with the blacklight. Object was loaned to Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Mexico City, Mexico, in 1964; loan returned in 2012.Per Robin Wright, Burke Museum, 4-12-2012, this house model is probably Haida, though she is not sure who the artist might be. House frontal entrance pole is a Salmon with a human figure.A photo of what appears to be this house model on display at the Smithsonian circa 1879 (photo may actually date more specifically to 1882 - early 1885) is in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution Archives: Photo ID 2962 or MNH-2962, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 41, Folder: 4, https://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_8263 . House model is one of the small ones, second from left, on shelf in front of house front in back of photo. If this house model does date to this time period, James G. Swan would most likely be the collector. It also appears on the left in an old photo of exhibits at the U.S. National Museum (in what is now the National Museum of Natural History building), Negative # 38121B. It is behind glass and there are reflections, but the exhibit label appears to identify it as Haida and lists James G. Swan as the collector.In James G. Swan correspondence in accession record No. 5260, Swan talks about sending two Haida house models. However, only one was catalogued, # E23547. It is possible house model ET14554/ET24468 or house model ET24565 may be from this accession?

Cylindrical twined basket with concave base. Two horizontal bands of colored (black? brown?) "Z" and "S" designs. Woven, un-pigmented diamond patterns around rim and base. Rim heavily damaged and deformed.Typed note inside vessel says: "33. Basketry Vessel. Tribe: Tlingit - Southern Alaska. Design: forward and backward "Z" pattern and upward and downward arrows in two bands around body, and a latent natural on natural ground diamond pattern; basic construction material is spruce root, with false embroidery for decoration in maidenhair fern stems and dyed grasses; all natural materials (vegetal dyes). Size: 6 1/2"h. 8" dia. Circa: 1890. Condition: poor, but capable of being repaired."

Woven basket with some external vertical elements colored red, purple (?) blue/black (?) and green. Several areas of loss, particularly around the rim and rim is deformed.Typed note inside basket says: "24. Storage Basketry Container. Tribe: Nootka-Makah Vancouver Island, B.C. and Northwest Washington State. Design: red-green-blue-black-purple stripes woven on a natural ground; of plain plaited cedar bark. Size: 6 1/2 h." 13"x10" sq. Circa: 1915. Condition: v. poor."

Oval woven basket with lid. Basket body decorated with faded green (?) designs on natural ground, one on each side: two equilateral crosses with four arms bent at right angles (right-facing swastikas) are found opposite one another and two "Z" patterns opposite one another. On the lid, there are what appear to be two birds (?) (possibly hell-diver bird motif?) opposite one another in the same faded green (?).Note: The swastika is usually considered a non-traditional Northwest Coast basket design symbol. It was popular in the early 20th century in Europe and North America as a good luck symbol but disappeared from use after it became negatively viewed because of its association with the Nazi party.

Painted terracotta kneeling figure with hands on top of thighs. Figure of a sitting woman. The head is large, wide to the sides and narrow front to back. Mouth, nostrils and ears are carved into the face, with protruding nose and eyes. Orange paint decorates the ears and area around nostrils and mouth. A headdress of brown and orange stripes sits on the crown of the head. Decorative brown lines pass from the elbows to shoulders and encircle the protruding breasts. The stomach is slightly rounded. Arms are held akimbo, and wrists are painted orange. The legs are short and wide, extending to the front, with orange painted feet. The thighs are decorated with brown curving lines. The back of the figure has a protruding bump on the head, and cleaved buttocks. On the bottom of the figure a hole is bored into the hollow centre.

Short statuette of a billiken type figure on a round pedestal. The figure has high, rounded cheeks, slanted eyes, and tall, pointed ears. The figure’s eyes, nostrils, mouth, hair, nipples and bellybutton are painted black. The bottom portion of the pedestal has a rippled decoration. The sides are carved in shallow relief and have extremely long arms.

Small figure of an old man. The figure has a high forehead, furrowed brow and prominent mustache and beard. The shoulders are hunched forward, with one hand positioned behind his back and the other cupping his ear. There are two holes bored on the underside of the nose for nostrils. The figure is dressed in pants, a tunic, a jacket and pointed slippers. There is a distinct cross hatching pattern in the ivory on his back. The base is somewhat concave.