TLINGIT DAGGER WITH BEAR POMMEL

Edward Baer, New York

George Terasaki, New York, acquired from the above in 1967

Copper work from the early part of the nineteenth century is rarely seen, though a few excellent examples that survive indicate the skill of Native artists in this line. By the later nineteenth century, when the present object was made, sheet copper was much more plentiful and a clear demand for copper objects had been established. Tlingit carvers, in particular, appear to have responded to the interest in copper artworks, and created objects for their own use, as well as for trade via the early curio dealers in gold-rush-period Alaska. This copper bear exhibits a sculptural form very much like a wooden mask, and features abalone shell inlays as well as finely engraved surface designs.

Steven C. Brown