Bird effigy ladle
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.The abstracted bird or bird creature on this ladle has an enigmatic quality that is emphasized by its refined, flowing contours. The effigy was likely carved in response to a dream or conceived from a vision. Among the Haudenosaunee, dreams and visions often motivated the carving of effigies on ladles, spoons, bowls, and pipes. Food bowls and ladles were individually owned and taken along on visits to other people.
Artwork Details
- Title: Bird effigy ladle
- Artist: Unrecorded Haudenosaunee (Seneca) artist
- Date: ca. 1760
- Geography: United States, New York
- Culture: Haudenosaunee (Seneca)
- Medium: Ash burl
- Dimensions: H. 4 1/2 × W. 5 1/4 in. (11.4 × 13.3 cm)
- Classification: Wood-Implements
- Credit Line: Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection, Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY (T0031)
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing