Hinkeet'sam—Heyatl’ik (Serpent)
Dateca. 1900
Label TextHeyatl’ik (meaning “curves like a snake”) is the term for the feathered lightning serpent. Similar in artistic conception as the wolf headdresses, serpent beings are distinguished by the curving circular forms on top. This unique version—having a human face with moveable eyes and mouth at the head of the serpent—is the particular tradition of the Dominic Andrews family, and is said to represent the first white men (Spanish mariners) seen by the Hesquiaht people.
Object number91.1.70
ProvenanceHesquiat Village, Vancouver Island, B.C.; (unknown collection); [Michael R. Johnson Gallery, Seattle, WA, by 1974]; purchased from Gallery by John H. Hauberg, Seattle, WA, 20 November 1974; gift from Mr. Hauberg to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA, 1991
Photo CreditPhoto: Paul Macapia
Exhibition HistoryVictoria, BC, Royal British Columbia Museum, Out of the Mist: Art of the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Nations, July 3, 1999 - June 10, 2001
Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, The Box of Daylight, September 15, 1983 - January 8, 1984Published References"The Spirit Within: Northwest Coast Native Art from the John H. Hauberg Collection", Seattle Art Museum, 1995, pg. 264Credit LineGift of John H. Hauberg
Dimensions9 1/4 x 7 3/4 in. (23.5 x 19.69 cm)
L.: 57.15 cm
MediumRed cedar wood, red cedar bark, paint
log in
