Rattle
ALTERNATE NAME(S)
- Thunderbird rattle
Date1993
Place MadeKingcome Inlet, British Columbia, Canada
Serial No.None
SignedWritten in pencil on end of handle: Thunder / Bird / Charlie / JohnsonDescriptionMade from a single piece of red cedar with attached handle, Johnson's Thunderbird rattle is carved and painted with formline design, a traditional decorative style in Northwest Coast art. The geometric, abstracted features of the rattle come from centuries old practices of embellishing totemic figures in carving, painting, and weaving. The Kwakwaka'wakw people of the Pacific Northwest, previously referred to as Kwakiutl, say that Thunderbird brings thunder with a flap of his wings and lightning with a blink of his eyes.
DimensionsLength: 14.4 in
Width: 4 in
Height: 6.5 inProvenancePurchased new from Douglas Reynolds Gallery, Vancouver, Canada.
Credit LinePurchase funds gift of the Clayton & Odessa Lang Ofstad Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Co-Trustee, 2022
Object number15665
On View
Not on view
