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Prayer Stick (Ikupasuy)
Prayer Stick (Ikupasuy)

Prayer Stick (Ikupasuy)

Original Language Titleイクパスイ
CultureAinu
Date19th century
MediumCarved wood
DimensionsOverall: 13 3/4 × 1 3/8 × 3/8 inches (34.93 × 3.49 × 0.95 cm)
Credit LineGift of Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts, 2025
Object number2025.56.34
On View
Not on view
Terms
DescriptionThe ikupasuy is a prayer stick used by the Ainu people during spiritual rituals. It is made of wood and features abstract carvings on the front that resemble fish hooks. The design is divided in five registers, with two opposing curls in each level. The top of the ikupasuy narrows to a pointed tip.Exhibition History
Connoisseurship and Good Pie: Ted Coe and Collecting Native Art. Organized by the Ralph T. Coe Foundation for the Arts, Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian. Santa Fe, NM, July 2015-April 2016.
Provenance

With Ralph T. Coe (1929-2010), until 2010;

His bequest to the Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts, Santa Fe, NM, 2010-2025;

The Coe Center's gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2025

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