Raven Hat
CultureTlingit, Southeast Alaska
Dateca. 1880
MediumWood, pigment, native tanned leather, wool, and abalone shell
DimensionsOverall: 6 5/8 × 17 1/2 × 11 1/2 inches (16.84 × 44.45 × 29.21 cm)
Credit LineFrom the Estelle and Morton Sosland Collection
Object number49.2008.6
On View
On viewGallery Location
Gallery Label- 206
Worn at traditional events, this impressive headdress embodies the mythology of Raven in Tlingit culture. The small red block in the beak is thought to represent the box containing daylight, which Raven released to mankind. Such headdresses reinforced clan history and evoked the strength, spirit and memory of ancestors associated with the object over generations. Here, the head of the bird is carved wood, painted and inlaid with abalone shell, while the body, outspread wings and dropping tail are constructed of hide cloth and shell. The overall configuration suggests the "dancing" performance sometimes observed in ravens.
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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