Description:

Northwest Coast, Haida, ca. 1970s. A hand-carved and hand-painted wooden shaman's rattle featuring a killer whale design on one side and a sea monster on the other. Note the Killer Whale visage also has the face of a smaller killer whale looking out from its mouth. This wonderful example is further embellished with an attractive palette of yellow, black,and red hues. Rattles like this example were carved from two halves and bound together once noisemakers were inserted. Size: 4.75" W x 10.25" H (12.1 cm x 26 cm); 11" H (27.9 cm) on included custom stand.

The Killer Whale is known as the "Lord of the Ocean" who held seals as slaves and dolphins as warriors. The indigenous believe that Killer Whales are related to humankind, and according to legend, when a human being drowns, this human is taken down into the depths of the ocean and transformed into a Killer Whale. In fact, some peoples believe that Killer Whales will intentionally take down entire canoes to get closer to their loved ones. Some also believe that these Orcas are actually reincarnations of former chiefs who were lost at sea.

Provenance: private Newport Beach, California, USA collection, purportedly purchased at the American Indian show in San Francisco about 20 years ago

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#155448

  • Condition: Wear to pigment as shown. Otherwise in nice condition with rattle still functional.

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May 21, 2020 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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