Wooden carving of a face with hands holding onto a deer’s antlers, painted in reds, blues, and ochres. It is framed by a turquoise border patterned with iridescent shell inlays.
Partial side-view of a painted wooden carving of a face with hands holding onto a deer’s antlers, with a patterned frame made of iridescent shells. Visible is the carving’s three-dimensionality.
Previous image 1 2 3 / 3 Next image

Unknown Maker, Tlingit

Frontlet (Shakee.at)

Maker

Unknown Maker, Tlingit

Culture

Tlingit, Native North American

Title

Frontlet (Shakee.at)

Year

late 1800s

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

abalone shell, wood

Geography

Place Made: Northwest Coast

Dimensions

19.1 x 14.6 x 5.1 cm (7 1/2 x 5 3/4 x 2 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum Works of Art Fund

Object Number

44.154

Type

Publications

Exhibition History

Being and Believing in the Natural World
Perspectives from the Ancient Mediterranean, Asia, and Indigenous North America
Oct 22, 2022 – Jun 04, 2023

Label copy

Iridescent blue, green, and pink abalone shells shine on this Tlingit frontlet, or headdress, made in the late 1800s. The flesh of abalone, a marine snail, can be eaten fresh or dry, and its shell is a resource for adornment. Tlingit makers working from their homelands in southeast Alaska traded goods for abalone shells from northern California. This inlaid frontlet depicts the Thunderbird and Killer Whale.

In the traditional stories of Tlingit and other Northwest Coast tribes, the mythical Thunderbird preys on whales during storms. Frontlets are worn for Tlingit memorial potlatch feasts and public dance celebrations.

—SB

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Unknown Maker, Tlingit
Frontlet (Shakee.at), late 1800s
Wood, abalone shell, and pigment
19.1 x 14.6 x 5.1 cm (7 1/2 x 5 3/4 x 2 inches)
Museum Works of Art Fund 44.154

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.