Tlingit, Southeast Alaska
Circa 1880
Wood, natural pigments
Length 13½"
Provenance: Label on handle inscribed "No 2 Shaman's or medicine man rattle, Juneau Alaska 1893"; Private collection, New England
The raven rattle is among the most complex sculptural forms produced on the Northwest Coast, and this example presents the full iconographic program in confident and accomplished carving. The raven body is painted in black and red formline, with ovoid and U-form designs covering the wings and breast in the manner characteristic of late 19th-century Tlingit production. A kingfisher is carved on the raven's chest, and the recumbent human figure on the back is depicted with a frog at the mouth, the tongue connecting the two figures in a composition that encodes the transfer of spiritual power between the human and animal realms.
Raven rattles of this type were used by shamans and high-ranking chiefs during ceremonies, the sound of the rattle understood as a voice capable of communicating with the spirit world. The iconography is not merely decorative but cosmological, each figure and its relationship to the others carrying specific meaning within Tlingit spiritual belief. The paint surface retains its original character, with the black and red pigments having mellowed to the deep, warm tones that develop only through age and handling over generations.
The label on the handle, inscribed "No 2 Shaman's or medicine man rattle, Juneau Alaska 1893," provides a documented date and place of collection that is rare in objects of this type, anchoring the rattle's early history with precision. Juneau in 1893 was a point of significant contact between Tlingit communities and outside collectors, and rattles of this quality were already being recognized by knowledgeable collectors at that date. The subsequent holding in a New England private collection completes a provenance that spans more than a century of careful preservation.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Tlingit, Southeast Alaska
Circa 1880
Wood, natural pigments
Length 13½"
Provenance: Label on handle inscribed "No 2 Shaman's or medicine man rattle, Juneau Alaska 1893"; Private collection, New England
The raven rattle is among the most complex sculptural forms produced on the Northwest Coast, and this example presents the full iconographic program in confident and accomplished carving. The raven body is painted in black and red formline, with ovoid and U-form designs covering the wings and breast in the manner characteristic of late 19th-century Tlingit production. A kingfisher is carved on the raven's chest, and the recumbent human figure on the back is depicted with a frog at the mouth, the tongue connecting the two figures in a composition that encodes the transfer of spiritual power between the human and animal realms.
Raven rattles of this type were used by shamans and high-ranking chiefs during ceremonies, the sound of the rattle understood as a voice capable of communicating with the spirit world. The iconography is not merely decorative but cosmological, each figure and its relationship to the others carrying specific meaning within Tlingit spiritual belief. The paint surface retains its original character, with the black and red pigments having mellowed to the deep, warm tones that develop only through age and handling over generations.
The label on the handle, inscribed "No 2 Shaman's or medicine man rattle, Juneau Alaska 1893," provides a documented date and place of collection that is rare in objects of this type, anchoring the rattle's early history with precision. Juneau in 1893 was a point of significant contact between Tlingit communities and outside collectors, and rattles of this quality were already being recognized by knowledgeable collectors at that date. The subsequent holding in a New England private collection completes a provenance that spans more than a century of careful preservation.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
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