Northwestern Washington State
Circa 1800 to 1850
Wood, natural pigments
Height 21" (53.3 cm)
Provenance: Goodwill Auction, Portland, Oregon; B. Henderson, Washington; G. Terasaki, New York; David Cook, Colorado; J. Williams, Oregon
Publication: Steven Clay Brown, Transfigurations: North Pacific Coast Art: George Terasaki Collector, Marquand Books, 2006, catalog no. 85
This Quileute wood power figure, also described as a shaman's wand, belongs to a small group of ritual sculptures from northwestern Washington State. Related handheld power figures are better known among the Quinault, while Quileute examples appear less frequently in collections. The figure was published in Transfigurations: North Pacific Coast Art: George Terasaki Collector, giving it a documented place within the study of North Pacific Coast art.
The carving shows a long narrow face, small oval eyes, and pierced areas likely intended for shell inlay, with a tapered projection above the head that may once have held cedar bark or other attachments. Black and red natural pigments remain on the surface, colors associated in the source text with ceremonial painting and initiation contexts. The form is direct and vertical, with the body reduced to strong structural elements rather than naturalistic anatomy.
Power figures of this kind were made for individuals connected to Quileute spiritual traditions and were understood as representations of personal power or guardian spirit assistance. Their use could relate to healing, hunting, and ritual appeals for aid, depending on the owner and context. The combination of early date, publication history, and recorded chain of ownership places this work within a well documented corpus of Northwest Coast ritual sculpture.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Northwestern Washington State
Circa 1800 to 1850
Wood, natural pigments
Height 21" (53.3 cm)
Provenance: Goodwill Auction, Portland, Oregon; B. Henderson, Washington; G. Terasaki, New York; David Cook, Colorado; J. Williams, Oregon
Publication: Steven Clay Brown, Transfigurations: North Pacific Coast Art: George Terasaki Collector, Marquand Books, 2006, catalog no. 85
This Quileute wood power figure, also described as a shaman's wand, belongs to a small group of ritual sculptures from northwestern Washington State. Related handheld power figures are better known among the Quinault, while Quileute examples appear less frequently in collections. The figure was published in Transfigurations: North Pacific Coast Art: George Terasaki Collector, giving it a documented place within the study of North Pacific Coast art.
The carving shows a long narrow face, small oval eyes, and pierced areas likely intended for shell inlay, with a tapered projection above the head that may once have held cedar bark or other attachments. Black and red natural pigments remain on the surface, colors associated in the source text with ceremonial painting and initiation contexts. The form is direct and vertical, with the body reduced to strong structural elements rather than naturalistic anatomy.
Power figures of this kind were made for individuals connected to Quileute spiritual traditions and were understood as representations of personal power or guardian spirit assistance. Their use could relate to healing, hunting, and ritual appeals for aid, depending on the owner and context. The combination of early date, publication history, and recorded chain of ownership places this work within a well documented corpus of Northwest Coast ritual sculpture.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
