Large bent-corner chest

Unrecorded Tlingit artist Native American

ca. 1750–1800

Not on view

Returned to lender

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

Bent-corner chests housed and stored valuable personal and ceremonial objects. Chiefs also used them as seats of honor on special occasions. The artist crafted the sides of the chest from a single, long plank. To form the corners, he cut three wedge-shaped grooves (kerfs) on the inner surface, soaked the plank in water, steamed it, bent it into ninety-degree angles along the grooves, and then lashed the two sides of the fourth corner together with a cord.

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

Title: Large bent-corner chest
Artist: Unrecorded Tlingit artist
Date: ca. 1750–1800
Geography: United States, Stikine River, Wrangell, Alaska
Culture: Tlingit
Medium: Spruce, paint, red turban snail opercula, rawhide, nails
Dimensions: H. 17 1/2 × W. 33 1/2 × D. 19 in. (44.5 × 85.1 × 48.3 cm)
Classification: Wood-Containers
Credit Line: Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection, Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY (T0206)
Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing