Haida ceremonial dance rattle (Indianapolis Museum of Art)

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Ritual dance rattle

Year	ca. 1850-1880
Type	musical instrument
Dimensions	32.07 cm × 9.5 cm × 9.5 cm (12.625 in × 3.75 in × 3.75 in)
Location	Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis

This ritual dance rattle in the form of a raven is part of the Native American collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art in Indianapolis, Indiana. Made by the Haida people of British Columbia in the early- to mid-19th century, it contains a number of spiritually significant totems whose power would be harnessed by shamans to control spirits during rituals.^[1]

Description

This wooden rattle is intricately carved from a single piece of wood and richly pigmented in green, red, and black. It depicts a raven clenching the tongue of a frog in its beak. The figure at the bottom, which bites the frog's body, is unidentified. The precise significance of the configuration is unknown; it might imbue the shaman with the bird's vision, or the power of the frog's poison.^[1] Extended tongues are a common artistic motif in the region, often sexual in nature but in this case most likely referring to the tongue as the seat of life force. While there is some contention that raven rattles were reserved for chiefs, they have been found in the graves of shamans, making that distinction as difficult to confirm as the meaning of the rattle's iconography.^[2]

Historical information

Albert P. Niblack, an Indianapolis native, collected this rattle in the field during his stint as an ethnographer. He traveled widely through the region, publishing his findings in 1888 in The Coast Indians of Southern Alaska and Northern British Columbia.^[3] While recognizing the excellence of their woodcarving, Lt. Niblack was somewhat disparaging of the musicality of the instruments he collected, declaring that "some of their devices . . . are essentially for the creation of a hideous noise."^[4]

Acquisition

This artifact was a gift to the IMA from (by then) Vice Admiral Niblack in 1930. It has the accession number 30.550 and is currently on view in the Michael and Patricia McCrory & Richard and Rebecca Feldman Gallery.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b Lee, Ellen Wardwell; Robinson, Anne (2005). Indianapolis Museum of Art: Highlights of the Collection. Indianapolis: Indianapolis Museum of Art. ISBN 0936260777.
^ "Raven rattle". Art World. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
^ Day, Holliday T. (1988). Indianapolis Museum of Art Collections Handbook. Indianapolis: Indianapolis Museum of Art. ISBN 0936260203.
^ Galpin, Rev. F.W. (10 March 1903). "The Whistles and Reed Instruments of the American Indians of the North-West Coast". Proceedings of the Musical Association. 29. Royal Musical Association: 115–138. doi:10.1093/jrma/29.1.115. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
^ "ritual dance rattle in the form of a raven". Indianapolis Museum of Art. Retrieved 6 April 2013.

External links

IMA page.

Indianapolis Museum of Art (Newfields)

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artworks at the
Indianapolis
Museum of Art

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Contemporary art	Acton Courre Merlan Egyptian Barnyard LOVE painting LOVE (sculpture) The Quintet of the Silent They Waz Nice White Folks While They Lasted (Sez One Gal to Another) Untitled Landfield Untitled Judd Untitled Irwin
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Art of the Americas	Haida ceremonial dance rattle
Oceanic art	Helmet mask (Tatanua)
Prints, drawings, and photographs	Blasting St. Vincent's Rock, Clifton Boreas and Oreithyia Galinthias Outwits Eileithyia by Announcing the Birth of Heracles Mother (Mutter) Moulin Rouge: La Goulue The Holy Family with the Dragonfly Young Woman in Blue
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by location

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Oldfields	Copy of Diana of Versailles Diana with Dog Female and Male Herm Fountain Four Seasons Landon-Era Birdbath Mother and Child (Gordine) Nymph and Fawn Sundial, Boy With Spider The Three Graces Pair of Urns
100 Acres	Bench Around the Lake Eden II Free Basket Funky Bones Indianapolis Island Park of the Laments Stratum Pier Team Building (Align)
Artworks on loan	East Gate/West Gate Mega-Gem Portrait of History Sewall Memorial Torches Spaces with Iron

Deaccessioned
artworks

Leadership

Categories:

Description

Historical information

Acquisition

See also

References

External links