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Artworks
UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, TLINGIT
Cane or Staff, late 19th centurywood, 41 x 1.75 x 1.5 in (104.1 x 4.4 x 3.8 cm)
unsigned.
LOT 40
ESTIMATE: $3,000 — $5,000Further images
A speaker’s staff functions as a symbol of authority in many Northwest Coast cultures; each culture has traditions governing their use. They are most often decorated with figures that represent...A speaker’s staff functions as a symbol of authority in many Northwest Coast cultures; each culture has traditions governing their use. They are most often decorated with figures that represent the crests and origin stories associated with the clan, family, or chieftainship. A speaker’s staff is held by the clan leader, though an appointed or hereditary speaker may deliver the address to the guests at a potlatch, feast, or dance celebration.
The short size and knob top of this staff indicate that it was used primarily as a cane, though function as a speaker’s staff is also a possibility. The presence of a short length of octopus tentacle at the bottom suggests that this may have belonged to a shaman, displaying his clan affiliations as well as his status and occupation. The style of sculpture is Tlingit in form, like a miniature totem pole of stacked individual figures. The eye sockets and face structure are both indicative of its Tlingit origin, and some of the figures/stories represented are Tlingit in origin.
Steven C. Brown
Provenance
An American Collection.
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