figurine

figurine

figurine

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Introduction

Hodenosaunee figurine carved from a single piece of wood. A small hole towards the back of the head holds a red or purple feather in place. Tuscarora from New York state. Collected by Herman ten Kate in the 1880s, and purchased by the museum in 1921.

Nation of Maker: Hodenosaunee/Haudenosaunee Tuscarora
Nation of Origin

Museum documentation, and "Tuscarora" inscribed in pencil on object base

Place of Origin: New York State, USA
Date Made or Date Range: 1880s
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

Museum documentation, GRASAC generated.

Materials

wood; feather, possibly dyed red/purple (?); pencil or charcoal (?)

Techniques or Format

This figurine is carved from a single piece of wood. A small feather is inserted into a small hole towards the back of the head, allowing the feather to be held in place and point up and forward. Pencil, or charcoal(?) is used to indicate eyes and eyebrows on the face.

Motifs and Patterns

It is a three-dimensional human figurine

Other Notes

There appears to be a second hole closer to the centre of the figurine's head that may have held a second feather or group of feathers in place, some remnants of what appears to have been feathers is visible. There also appears to be a separate small piece of wood inserted into a hole in one of the figurine's hands. It is likely that the figurine held something at one time.

Dimensions: 0 × 0 × 10.5 cm
Condition: Fair, it is possible that some pieces of this object have broken or fallen off.
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

Museum documentation. Inscription on object base reads: "8th Dec. '82"; possibly date made, or collection date (?)

Current Location: Museum Volkenkunde, Leiden, Netherlands
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 2012-10
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1921
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Herman ten Kate
Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: 1880s
Collection Narratives and Histories

Collected by Herman ten Kate in 1880s, and purchased from him by the museum in 1921.

Publication History

Pieter Hovens, with contributions by Duane Anderson, Ted Brasser, Laura van Broekhoven et al. "The Ten Kate Collection 1882-1888". Leiden: ZKF Publishers, 2010.

GKS Reference Number: 24396
Approximate Place of Origin

42.971385103, -75.7198671

Source of Information about Places

Museum documentation

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