Guardian figure staff
Unknown
ca. 1820–50 · Conifer wood, deer hooves, pigment, and vegetal fiber · The American Wing
A Northwest Coast master sculptor created this staff finial featuring a meditative standing figure. The work, intended for a ritual specialist, was an integral part of shamanic transformation and healing ceremonies. The figure’s strong brow and sagittal crest may denote a specific group’s identity among the Coastal or Inland Chehalis peoples. Its adornment with two dewclaws from a deer may have infused it with power.
- Artist
- Unknown
- Date
- ca. 1820–50
- Medium
- Conifer wood, deer hooves, pigment, and vegetal fiber
- Culture
- Lower Chehalis or Quinault, Native American
- Department
- The American Wing
- Credit line
- The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection of Native American Art, Promised Gift of Charles and Valerie Diker
