Copper Mask Shaman's
date: label: Accession Date
content: 12 Oct 1926
label: Collection Date
content: purchased June 1926
name: label: Collector
content: Dr. Ales F. Hrdlicka
label: Collector
content: Dr. Robert Simpson
label: Donor Name
content: Bureau Of American Ethnology
notes: label: Notes
content: From card: "Ceremonial sheet copper mask used in mortuary ceremonies (killing of slaves.) Inset of nacred abalone shell as eyes & teeth held in position by rivit copper support strips on inside of mask. Skull cover of bear hide attached to top and sides of copper with cord and copper rivets. Design on crescentic extention at the sides near top indicate shoulders. On cheeks indicating ear thus [drawing] ... 9/12/1966 after removal of oxide in the Anthropology Conservation Lab, what appear to be fabric impressions are now visible on the mask surface. This specimen was purchased from the Nugget Shop Inc., - Curio dealers, jewelers, and opticians, Juneau, Alaska, June 1926, Comment: Robert Simpson, Mgr. ...'The mask originally came from Yakutat, I have forgotten the name of the native who brought it in, but it is a genuine article and is probably the only one in existence. It is the finest specimen of Tlingit copper craftsmanship I have ever seen. These were worn by the medicine men at their various ceremonies and particularly when they killed the slaves at the potlatches.' Loaned: Osaka Expo-70, July 1969 - Jan. 1971, and returned 12-7-1970." See BAE 46th Annual Report, p. 34, where acquisition of this artifact is discussed.
label: Notes
content: Illustrated Fig. 15, p. 95, and discussed pp. 92-93 in Lenz, Mary Jane, 2004, "No Tourist Material: George Heye & His Golden Rule," American Indian Art Magazine, 29(4):86-95, 105.
label: Notes
content: This object is on loan to the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, from 2010 through 2027.
label: Notes
content: From 2008 Anthropology Conservation Lab treatment report by Kim Cullen Cobb: Copper shaman's mask in the shape of a bear's head with fur sewn to back. The mask is fabricated from sheet copper that has been shaped into a deep concavity, likely by sinking - or hammering - the copper into a concave surface. The anatomical features of eyes, nose, mouth and brow ridges have been emphasized by repousse and chasing. Chased lines define eyebrows, eyes and nose, and chased symbols have been worked into the ears and cheeks. Abalone shell has been inserted into holes in the eye and mouth area to describe eyes and teeth. A backing of copper sheet, riveted to the back of the mask in the area of the eyes and mouth, holds the abalone elements in place. Bear hide is attached to the back of the mask; the hide is sewn with twisted sinew to the edges of the mask at the top and sides through holes drilled through the copper sheet; the hide is also riveted to the brow of the mask using copper rivets. There is a seam down the center back of the hide.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 14 Feb 2022
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Yakutat (not certain) / Juneau (purchased here), Yakutat Bay (not certain), Alaska, United States, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Tlingit, Yakutat
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 093522
label: USNM Number
content: E332801-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Mask