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North America Tlingit peoples, Alaska/British Columbia Shaman's Amulet ca. 1820–50 Sperm-whale ivory L. 6 9/16 in. (16.7 cm) Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection An intricate combination of human and animal forms makes this amulet especially engaging and also suggests the complexity for which much Northwest Coast art is known. The major motif is a sea monster or marine mammal devouring a human, likely a reference to the shaman's powers of transformation, which enabled him to take the form of the animals with whom he had a special relationship. Birds, a bear, other humans, and perhaps a frog are intertwined with the sea creature, all images presumably meaningful to the shaman who owned the amulet. |
