Shaman's Apron
CultureTlingit and Southeast Alaska
Dateca. 1890-1903
MediumNative tanned leather, pigment, and deer hoofs
DimensionsOverall: 27 1/2 × 42 7/8 inches (69.85 × 108.89 cm)
Credit LineFrom the Estelle and Morton Sosland Collection
Object number49.2008.15
On View
On viewGallery Location
Gallery Label- 206
Shamans from many Northwest Cost tribes employed fringed waist garments such as this in their practice. The painting, typical of classic Northwest Coast style, represents a bear in a split depiction. The head, made of two profiles, occupies the center of the composition, with the toothed mouth extending outward from either side. Other parts of the bear, including nostrils, shoulder joints, elbows, forelegs and clawed feet are represented as well. In the center of the bear's head is an ovoid-shaped face, perhaps depicting the rear end of the bear or a subsidiary spirit figure and its attached feet. The deer hoofs attached to the ends of the fringe make a resonant rattling noise when the shaman is in motion.
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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