Cigarette Case

Object Details

Collector

N/A

Donor Name

Dr. Lucinda D. Templin

From card: "Silver, vertically rectangular box for pack of cigarettes, elaborately decorated with figures applied in relief, stamp decorated and set with blue and green turquoise, initials on front: "L.T.D.L." [initials of collector/donor, presumably].

Note: the swastika design is actually what is usually called the Navajo "whirling log" symbol. It is in no way related to the Nazi swastika. In 1940, in response to Hitler's regime, the Navajo, Papago, Apache and Hopi people signed a whirling log proclamation. It read, "Because the above ornament, which has been a symbol of friendship among our forefathers for many centuries, has been desecrated recently by another nation of peoples, therefore it is resolved that henceforth from this date on and forever more our tribes renounce the use of the emblem commonly known today as the swastika . . . on our blankets, baskets, art objects, sand paintings and clothing." Reference: The Swastika Symbol in Navajo Textiles by Dennis J. Aigner. DAI Press, Laguna Beach, California, 2000. The swastika was also popular in the early 20th century in Europe and North America as a good luck symbol and was sometimes used decoratively in that sense on Navajo-made objects produced for the tourist market.

Record Last Modified

4 Dec 2014

Specimen Count

1

Culture

Navajo (Diné)

Accession Date

9 Jun 1954

Accession Number

200122

USNM Number

E404073-0

Object Type

Cigarette Case

Place

New Mexico, United States, North America

See more items in

Anthropology

NMNH - Anthropology Dept.

Topic

Ethnology

Record ID

nmnhanthropology_8433588

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/30cda345b-0594-45c9-bdb5-67c8eb608d3d