Tlingit, Northwest Coast
Mid to late 19th century
Bone
Height 1 1/4" (3.2 cm); length 4 1/8" (10.5 cm)
Provenance: Bushells Auction House, Seattle, Washington; private Northwest collection
Shaman's charms were among the most personally significant objects in the Tlingit ceremonial world, carried or worn by the shaman, or ixt', as concentrations of spiritual power acquired through direct contact with helping spirits. Unlike objects produced for potlatch display or clan ceremonial use, charms were intimate possessions tied to the individual shaman's power and were not transferable in the same way as hereditary crests or regalia. Their efficacy was understood to derive from the relationship between the shaman and the spirit forces the charm embodied.
The imagery on Tlingit shaman's charms characteristically draws on the visual vocabulary of transformation and spiritual encounter, including animals depicted with skeletal features, figures caught between human and animal form, and beings associated with the spirit world that the shaman navigated during healing and ceremonial practice. Bone was a preferred material for objects of this type, its association with the structural essence of living beings giving charms carved from it a particular spiritual resonance. The worn warm patina on this example is consistent with sustained personal handling over an extended period.
Tlingit shamans occupied a distinct and socially complex role within Northwest Coast society, responsible for healing the sick, controlling weather, ensuring successful hunting, and mediating between the human community and the spirit world. Their equipment, including charms, rattles, masks, and regalia, was treated with particular care during their lifetimes and with caution after their deaths, as these objects retained the spiritual charge accumulated through use. Small bone charms of this type from documented Northwest Coast collections represent some of the most intimate surviving material evidence of Tlingit shamanic practice.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Tlingit, Northwest Coast
Mid to late 19th century
Bone
Height 1 1/4" (3.2 cm); length 4 1/8" (10.5 cm)
Provenance: Bushells Auction House, Seattle, Washington; private Northwest collection
Shaman's charms were among the most personally significant objects in the Tlingit ceremonial world, carried or worn by the shaman, or ixt', as concentrations of spiritual power acquired through direct contact with helping spirits. Unlike objects produced for potlatch display or clan ceremonial use, charms were intimate possessions tied to the individual shaman's power and were not transferable in the same way as hereditary crests or regalia. Their efficacy was understood to derive from the relationship between the shaman and the spirit forces the charm embodied.
The imagery on Tlingit shaman's charms characteristically draws on the visual vocabulary of transformation and spiritual encounter, including animals depicted with skeletal features, figures caught between human and animal form, and beings associated with the spirit world that the shaman navigated during healing and ceremonial practice. Bone was a preferred material for objects of this type, its association with the structural essence of living beings giving charms carved from it a particular spiritual resonance. The worn warm patina on this example is consistent with sustained personal handling over an extended period.
Tlingit shamans occupied a distinct and socially complex role within Northwest Coast society, responsible for healing the sick, controlling weather, ensuring successful hunting, and mediating between the human community and the spirit world. Their equipment, including charms, rattles, masks, and regalia, was treated with particular care during their lifetimes and with caution after their deaths, as these objects retained the spiritual charge accumulated through use. Small bone charms of this type from documented Northwest Coast collections represent some of the most intimate surviving material evidence of Tlingit shamanic practice.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
