Object Details
- Collector
- James G. Swan
- Donor Name
- James G. Swan
- From card: "Copper images made by hand, of pure nugget copper, very ancient and presumed to have been made of native copper found at Atria [sic, should be Atna/Ahtna] or Copper Riverland from thence brought to Sitka and traded with the Haida Chief who formerly owned them."
- Note: these five figures were originally catalogued separately as E73118 through E72122, but are currently all tracked as number E73119. They were also erroneously catalogued again later as number 89220.
- Note, Swan's diaries No. 32 and 33, which are in the University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, and which include the dates July 24 and 25, 1883, record his collection of these artifacts. He says he bought them from an old woman named Jetkilslea at Masset on July 24, 1883. See in particular his entries in Diary No. 33, "James Gilchrist Swan journal of a trip to Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, 1883" for dates July 24 and 25, 1883, viewable online beginning here https://cdm16786.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/pioneerlife/id/22984 .
- There is a long informational note about these objects in the Anthropology catalogue ledger book, sourced to James G. Swan: "Copper images made by hand of pure nugget copper very ancient and presumed to have been made of native copper found at Atna or Copper river, and from thence brought to Sitka & traded to the Haida chief who formerly owned them. Procured at Massett, Q. C. Is. B. C. July 24/83. I bought these of an old woman who found them in an old carved column which supported one end of a great beam which formed the center of the frame of the roof. This column had a cavity at the bottom, & a hand hole in front through which articles were put, a sort of "catch all." The old woman reached in & drew out an ancient seal club of yew carved to represent a sea lion's head and body. Then a lot of old trash, & finally, after a long search, she found these images which she brought to me. She said they belong to her great grandmother & had been in the family of her ancestor for many generations before her great grandmother was born. They were used on great occasions as dancing ornaments & worn around the waist. Tradition did not say who made them but they came from the north. They are not cast, but made by hand from pure nugget copper which rings like steel when struck while smelted copper does not. ... James G Swan".
- Record Last Modified
- 2 Aug 2021
- Specimen Count
- 5
- Culture
- Haida
- Accession Date
- 21 Dec 1883
- Collection Date
- 24 Jul 1883
- Accession Number
- 013804
- USNM Number
- E73119-0
- Object Type
- Figure
- Place
- Masset, Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii) / Graham Island, British Columbia, Canada, North America
- See more items in
- Anthropology
- NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
- Topic
- Ethnology
- Record ID
- nmnhanthropology_8476877
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/36851096b-b166-453e-a28c-e6499da3b046
