Raven Rattle (sasáa)

Raven Rattle (sasáa)

mid-1800s
Culture
Uncertain: Tlingit | Haida
Object
rattle, raven
Medium
Painted wood, leather=wrapped handle, and stones
Accession Number
1953.387
Credit Line
Native Arts acquisition funds

Haida artist, Raven Rattle (sasáa), Mid-1800s. Painted wood, leather-wrapped handle, and stones; 4 1/2 x 12 1/2 x 3 5/8 in. Denver Art Museum: Native Arts acquisition funds, 1953.387

Dimensions
height: 4.5 in, 11.4300 cm; length: 12.5 in, 31.7500 cm; width: 3.625 in, 9.2075 cm
Department
Native Arts
Collection
Indigenous Arts of North America
This object is currently on view

In Haida cosmology, the raven is a trickster figure whose exploits help to animate the Haida world. Haida raven rattles (sasáa) like the one here are important pieces of chiefly regalia used on ceremonial occasions. The small object in the raven's beak represents the sun. A human figure reclines on the raven's back, its tongue grasped in the beak of a crested bird, which represents the exchange of transformative supernatural power between two beings. A figure with a beak decorates the raven's chest and is possibly meant to represent a sparrow hawk.

Exhibition History
  • “Stampede: Animals in Art” — Denver Art Museum, 9/10/2017

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