War club with raven

Unrecorded Tsimshian Artist First Nations

ca. 1800–30

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

This skillfully sculpted club utilized the tines of the strong and broadly spread antlers of a male caribou or elk as a fearsome weapon, engraved with a visual reference of the owner’s clan history. On this club, a bird, possibly a raven, cocks its head to the side and observes with one eye. Clubs made of caribou or elk antler are thought to have originated among the caribou-hunting Athapaskan people who lived to the northeast of the Coast Tsimshian people.

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

Title: War club with raven
Artist: Unrecorded Tsimshian Artist
Date: ca. 1800–30
Geography: Canada, Northern British Columbia
Culture: Tsimshian
Medium: Caribou or elk antler, iron (restored)
Dimensions: H. 16 1/2 × W. 5 × D. 1 in. (41.9 × 12.7 × 2.5 cm)
Classification: Bone/Ivory-Implements
Credit Line: Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY
Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing