Box
CultureTlingit, Southeast Alaska
Dateca. 1810-1840
MediumWood (probably spruce panels with red cedar bottom), pigment, and spruce root
DimensionsOverall: 18 × 14 3/8 × 14 3/8 inches (45.72 × 36.5 × 36.5 cm)
Credit LineFrom the Estelle and Morton Sosland Collection
Object number49.2008.7
On View
On viewGallery Location
Gallery Label- 206
The designs of this relief-carved and painted box are corner-oriented. In this compositional structure, the center line of each of two compositions occupies opposite corners of the box. Consequently, each pair of the box’s four sides forms a complete image that is visually joined at the corner’s edge, with the design appearing bent in the middle. When the viewer faces a corner, therefore, a complete design composed of highly stylized, interconnected creatures becomes visible. The beings depicted within these flowing, precisely designed compositions are impossible to identify with certainty but probably represent ancient protective spirits.
Torrence, Gaylord, ed. Continuum: North American Native Art at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Kansas City: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
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