Headdress Frontlet
Attributed to
Albert Edward Edenshaw
(North American Indian, Haida, 1810 - 1894)
Dateca. 1850
MediumWood, pigment, and abalone shell
DimensionsOverall: 7 1/2 × 5 5/8 × 2 1/2 inches (19.05 × 14.3 × 6.35 cm)
Credit LineFrom the Estelle and Morton Sosland Collection
Object number2009.41.4
On View
On viewGallery Location
- 206
Collections
DescriptionSmall wooden plaque-like object carved with a representation of a bear on its haunches bordered by abalone shell inlay.Gallery LabelHeaddress frontlets are carved wooden plaques that form the primary element of elaborate ceremonial headdresses. Positioned above the forehead of the wearer, they were attached to a semi-cylindrical framework made of wood or whale baleen, which was further ornamented with various materials from the creatures of the earth, sky and sea. This carving represents a bear sitting on its haunches with its forefeet held upward. The small human faces carved in the bear's ears are likely references to mythological tales of marriage between bears and humans, which brought about the origin of certain Haida clans.
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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