Rare Northwest Coast Shaman's Rattle

Description:

Rare Northwest Coast Shaman's Rattle, c. 1840-60, probably Tlingit, carved in two pieces with central mask-like face on each side, with pierced circular mouth, framed by two relief carved seals in profile, red and black pigment, ht. 9 1/4, wd. 3 7/8 in.

Note: Rattles on the northwest coast were used in connection with spirit contact. The sound of the rattle is said to open communication with ancestral spirits, who were called upon for strength and guidance in challenging endeavors. Most rattles are sculpted with a hollow chamber at the center, which is smaller in raven and other bird rattles and larger in the ones of globular form. This intriguing example, however, is related to a small sub-group of globular rattles that have been called pierced or donut rattles. These generally have a flattened-globular form, and the unexpected feature of a hole that cleanly pierces through the center of the rattle from front to back. The hollowed chamber of the rattle is formed around the hole, like the negative form of a donut, so that the percussive pieces within the chamber, which could be seeds, tiny stones, beads, or birdshot, would not spill out. A small but significant number of pierced rattles exists today, distributed through a similar number of museums in the US, Canada, and Europe. Why or how this interesting rattle variant came about is unrecorded and unknown, though it may be related to the concept of a tubular 'soul-catcher.' This was a type of shaman's amulet, most often carved of hollowed bone, within which a lost or errant spirit could be captured and retained. Perhaps the hole signified the doorway through which the shaman's spirit entered into and returned from the spirit world.

This example is unusual, even among the small group of rattles with related form, in that the hole piercing the rattle is smaller in relation to the rattle's diameter than most others. Each of the rattles of this type exhibit a wholly unique design and sculptural composition, and this one is no exception in that regard. On the front and rear of the rattle are mask-like carved faces, their mouths forming each end of the hollow tube that pierces the center of the flattened globe. Above and below each of these faces, the arched body of a seal is relief-carved in profile, as if two seals or sea lions were circling around each face. These images may refer to the clan affiliation of the shaman who owned the rattle, or they may represent some of the shaman's helper spirits, which are often depicted on shaman's rattles of the globular and oystercatcher types.

The styles of face sculpture and two-dimensional design seen in this uncommon rattle most strongly suggest Tlingit manufacture, though the rattle may also have originated among the Kaigani Haida. Examples of this type of rattle can be seen in the American Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian, and the National Museum of the American Indian. Many of the dozen or more known examples of pierced rattles have either a Tlingit provenance or exhibit a Tlingit style of sculpture and design work, though one early and very classic example is clearly Tsimshian in style (NMAI).

Steven Brown
November, 2010
Estimate $20,000-30,000

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