Eyah (Spirit) Effigy Bowl
CultureSisseton Dakota (Eastern Sioux), Minnesota
Dateca. 1850
MediumWood and brass tacks
DimensionsOverall: 5 5/8 × 13 1/2 × 14 1/2 inches (14.29 × 34.29 × 36.83 cm)
Credit LineGift of Ned Jalbert
Object number2006.48
On View
On viewGallery Location
- 208
Collections
DescriptionLow wooden bowl carved from burl with the representation of an animal's head with brass tack eyes rising up from the rim.Gallery LabelFeast bowls of the Santee Dakota are often associated with Eyah, a supernatural being known as the Glutton. They were used within ceremonies that included ritual "eat all feasts," in which great quantities of food were consumed. Eyah is most often depicted as some voracious animal, usually a bear, in which the spirit resides. Here, the creature's head with brass-tack eyes rises up from the rim, its shoulders subtly defined at either side, thereby transforming the volume of the bowl into a sculptural metaphor for the creature's body.
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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