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Courting Fan

ca. 1840
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
A bull elk and his band of cows are incised on one side of this wood fan. Around the rim of the reverse, thirty-four abstract human figures join hands, and sixteen long, pointed forms radiate from the center. Perhaps these elongated shapes represent reflected rays of light, a reference to the all-powerful Sun. Members of the Elk Dreamer’s Society regarded the elk as a symbol of male power, and one of the members likely carried this unusual fan in dances.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Courting Fan
  • Date: ca. 1840
  • Geography: United States, Minnesota
  • Culture: Dakota (Eastern Sioux)
  • Medium: Wood (pine), pigment
  • Dimensions: Length: 16 1/2 in. (41.9 cm)
    Width: 11 in. (27.9 cm)
  • Classification: Wood-Implements
  • Credit Line: Collection of John and Marva Warnock
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing