Sxwaixwe carving

ca. 1880

This unusual being is depicted on special masks used to bless and protect people in life crisis events, such as sickness and death. Only the person with the right to use the masks would know its deeper meanings. This small carving might have once been the finial of a rattle or the top of a staff.

Mountain goat horn, mountain sheep horn, cow horn, copper

5 1/2 x 2 in. (13.97 x 5.08 cm)

Gift of John H. Hauberg

91.1.140

Not currently on view

Resources

Published ReferencesThe Spirit Within: Northwest Coast Native Art from the John H. Hauberg Collection, Seattle Art Museum, 1995, pg. 292

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