Currently not on view
Deceased shaman,
ca. 1880
Simeon Stilthda, Haida, ca. 1799–1889; born Yan, Haida Gwaii, BC; died Masset, Haida Gwaii, BC
Haida
PU 5160
For the people of the Northwest Coast, the shaman was an intermediary between the forces of nature and humanity and was often the most powerful individual of his lineage: healing the ill, divining the future, controlling the weather, offering protection against witchcraft, bringing success both in the hunt and in war. Unlike most individuals, who were cremated upon their deaths, the shaman was buried above ground, laid out as if sleeping on a plank, and then put into a grave house elevated by four poles. Attributed to Simeon Stilthda, this work is one of a small set by the artist representing a shaman laid out in this manner. This particular example was produced for Anglo American use, probably specifically for individuals collecting “authentic Native objects” for museums.
Information
Title
Deceased shaman
Dates
ca. 1880
Maker
Medium
Alder wood with pigment
Dimensions
17.1 × 58.4 × 21.6 cm (6 3/4 × 23 × 8 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Lent by the Department of Geosciences, Princeton University
Object Number
PU 5160
Place Made
North America, Canada, British Columbia, (Old) Masset
Inscription
in graphite, on the back: Rev. Sheldon Jackson | New York City, NY | No. 23 Center St.
Marks/Labels/Seals
Stamped, on back: Princeton University, Princeton Museum of Natural History, Princeton, NJ
Culture
Type
Techniques
Collected by Rev. Dr. Sheldon Jackson, in or after 1877; Given to E. M. Museum (Princeton Museum of Natural History), 1882-1885
- Erna Gunther, Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Exhibit at Seattle's World Fair Fine Arts Pavilion, April 21-October 21 (Seattle: Century 21 Exposition, 1962)., cat. no. 16, p. 16 (illus.)
- Andreas Lommel, Die Welt der frühen Jäger, Medizinmänner, Schamanen, Künstler (Munich: Verlag Georg D. W. Callwey, 1965)., pl. 16, p. 184
- Andreas Lommel, Shamanism: The Beginnings of Art. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967 [English edition of Lommel 1965])., pl. 16, p. 184
- Wilson Duff, with contributions by Bill Holm and Bill Reid. Arts of the Raven: Masterworks by the Northwest Coast Indian. An Exhibition in Honour of the One Hundredth Anniversary of Canadian Confederation (Vancouver: Vancouver Art Gallery, 1967)., cat. no. 137
- Gillett G. Griffin. Art of the Northwest Coast (Princeton University Art Museum, 1969)., cat. no. 96, p. 43
- Norman Feder, Two Hundred Years of North American Indian Art (New York: Praeger Publishers and the Whitney Museum of American Art, 1971)., cat. no. 104, p. xx
- Edmund B. Feldman. The Artist: A Social History. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1982)., p. 8 (illus.)
- Victoria Wyatt, Shapes of Their Thoughts: Reflections of Culture Contact in Northwest Coast Indian Art (New Haven, Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University and Norman, University of Oklahoma Press, 1984)., fig. 35, p. 41 (illus.)
- Helen H. Marr, Voices of the Ancestors: Music in the Life of the Northwest Coast Indians (Greenwich, CT: Bruce Museum, 1986)., p. 21
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Allen Wardwell.
Tangible Visions: Northwest Coast Indian Shamanism and Its Art (New York, 1996)., cat. no. 63, p. 89. (illus.) - Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007), illustrated p. 343
- Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collections (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Art Museum, 2013), p. 396
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Northwest Coast Indian Art (Saturday, April 21, 1962 - Sunday, October 21, 1962)
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Arts of the Raven: Masterworks by the Northwest Coast Indian (June 15 - September 24, 1967)
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Art of the Northwest Coast (January 22 - March 2, 1969)
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Two Hundred Years of North American Indian Art (1971)
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Voices of the Ancestors: Music in the Life of the Northwest Coast Indians (1986)
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An Educated Eye: The Princeton University Art Museum Collection (Friday, February 22, 2008 - Sunday, June 15, 2008)
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Object Lessons in American Art: Selections from the Princeton University Art Museum Saturday, February 4, 2023 - Sunday, January 7, 2024
