X-RARE Northwest Coast, WA RAVEN Effigy Burl Wood Mortar & Pestle from 1800s

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Houghton USA

Ancient Art, Antiques, & FineCollectibles

Antique Native American Shaman’s

Raven Clan Effigy Burl Wood Mortar & Pestle

With Carved Pictographs Near the Center Bowl

Pacific Northwest Coast Native American

Puget Sound/Salish Sea

c. 1750—1850

Note:

Note: Local Native American museums in the Pacific NW and university museums in Washington State were contacted about donation of this item, but have refused to add it to their collections.

SUMMARY:

NW Coast Shaman’s Raven Effigy Mortar & Pestle

Estimated Date: 1750—1850

Material: Hand-carved, natural wooden burl branch. {A burl is a natural, tree growth in which the grain and shape of the wooden trunk has grown in a deformed manner. Native American’s thought that these burls contained magical powers of healing.} Small stone pestle.

Find Location: Northwest Coast, USA, WA, 19th Century Find

Approximate Measurements of Wooden Mortar:

 Length: 9.00” (22.5 cm)

 Width: 4.00” (10.2 cm)

 Height: 4.54” (11.5 cm)

 Weight: 1.75 lbs. (796gr)

Approximate Measurements of Small Stone Pestle

· Length: 2.27” (58 mm)

· Diameter: .67” (17 mm)

· Weight: 1.0 oz. (29 gr.)

This incredibly RARE Shaman’s Wooden Mortar made from a wooden tree burl log that has the powerful Northwest Coast clan figure of a Raven carved into it. The believed that animal figures like the Raven carved into objects made the bowl itself come alive with protective powers against evil spirits who were thought to dwell everywhere. The Trickster Raven was purposefully carved to protect and empower those who used this bowl from evil spirits. It is a very powerful and spiritual piece as it appears the Raven is in flight to carry the medicinal blessings to the sick or injured!

This mortar would have been made, blessed, and used by only a single shaman for many years to make small batches of healing poultices for his patients. Native American from the NW coast thought that these burls contained living Spirits to help or harm humans and magical powers of healing.

There are two (2) small pictographs (one is a 8.62 mm tall stick figure of a human--likely a depiction of the Shaman himself--and another figure that may be a Raven or other Spirit animal) carved into the top of the mortar between the Raven's beak and the mortar's bowl that measures about 1.34" or 34 mm in diameter! {You can see the small figures in macro photos 3-5}

This 19th century mortar is rather crudely carved in style that was used among NW Coast tribes from about 1750—1850. The large, hand-carved mortar is made from a single wooden burl. While the small, stone pestle appears to be a water smoothed rock.

{NOTE: A burl is a natural, tree growth in which the grain and shape of the wooden trunk has grown in a deformed manner. Native American’s thought that these burls contained living Spirits and magical powers of healing and of protection.}

Very old examples of shaman paraphernalia are EXTREMELY RARE and only a few are known to exist in Native American museums and fine private collections.

PROVENANCE/HISTORY

This fascinating, Shaman’s wooden mortar carved into the shape of “The Trickster Raven” came from a century old Pacific Northwestern collection of artifacts from the Puget Sound area on Bainbridge Island.

The entire estate collection was obtained decades ago from the late Mrs. Henrietta Swanson’s relatives, whose family had early Seattle / island connections.

This Raven Mortar effigy shows a closed-beak Raven at one end with a streamlined body as if in flight. The Raven mortar shows ware from ancient use by a tribal Shaman. The Raven was thought to scare away Evil Spirits and protect those around it.

Minor dings, surface cracks, abrasion marks, grease/oil stains are consistent with age and heavy use over centuries. Deep chisel cuts are especially evident on the inside of the bowl. A very early and RARE wooden artifact from the pre-white settler indigenous population of the island/region.

NOTE: This ancient Native American artifact is legal to buy/sell/own under the U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and it is guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

Condition:

It is in Very Good to Excellent, Museum Quality condition and has a wonderful patina with no modern repairs or restorations. Museum quality with some loss of material to the Raven's beak, minor cracks, abrasions, chips, and nicks that are consistent with age and ancient use. See macro photos for details.

DETAILS

This incredible hand-carved, mortar has the powerful clan figure of a Raven carved into it and two pictographs carved into the area around the center bowl. Several NW people believed that animal figures like the Trickster Raven carved into objects made the mortar itself come alive with protective powers against evil spirits who were thought to dwell everywhere. The Raven was purposefully carved into the mortar to show the Raven protecting and empowering those who used this bowl to heal the ill and protect them from evil spirits and harm. It is a very powerful and spiritual piece that is museum quality!

A Shaman laboriously worked the large, native cedar burl into the elegant shape of a Raven into this incredible mortar. Totemic design of a Raven’s head was carved into one end. This large burl is oblong shaped and very thick and robustly carved.

SHAMAN PARAPHERNALIA

Shaman in the Pacific NW were thought to communicate mystically and directly with he world of Spirits. This wooden mortar would have been made and blessed by a single shaman-priest and used throughout his lifetime. A Shaman’s artwork was his personal property and his regalia was potent and dangerous to others. Shaman were often transformed into spiritual animal helpers.

Upon the death of a Shaman, his body and all his paraphernalia were buried far from the village as both he and his regalia remained highly potent and dangerous. Pacific NW Shaman were often buried in elevated grave houses and guarded by fierce grave figures.

This mortar, with its small, circular bowl and relatively small pestle, would have been used for tiny batches of material—perhaps for making shamanistic poultices for healing/ritual ceremonies. Its small size rules out any food preparation use—it is too tiny.

The roughly hewed wood suggests this bowl was executed in a very early style, indicating a date of origin that could span from circa 1800 to well back into the eighteenth century. The broad, thick form-lines and deep, carved-out bowl are typical of objects that are documented to the last quarter of the eighteenth century, and many of those were undoubtedly created well before their documented date of collection by Euro-Americans—in this case in the late 1800s.

This archaic-style design work is usually attributed primarily to the Tlingit and it's very likely that this group was the original source of the bowl. However, in the very early historic period, northern Northwest Coast design styles had much more in common than they did in the mid-nineteenth century, after many decades of artistic evolution.

Numerous examples of archaic-style objects collected from the Tlingit, Haida, and other NW cultures exist to indicate that this style was common in their area in the early years of the contact period. The form-line designs on this bowl appear to represent the head of the eagle on the upper-beak end and the tail feathers and handle on the other end. This dual-representation or punning style of imagery is very common in the Northwest Coast tradition.

The bowl is believed to be carved from Sitka spruce, a common forest tree on the northern Northwest Coast, but one that is almost never mentioned in the ethnographic literature as a carving material. Once one learns to recognize the appearance of this wood, however, it becomes apparent that there are a great many carved objects, many of them very early examples, that were carved of this material in the historic period. It was commonly used for bowls in the early contact period and before, as well as for war helmets, canoe paddles, and such works as combs and other small objects.

Northwest Native American Raven Mythology

The Raven is a culture hero of the Northwest Coast and Alaskan Athabaskan tribes. He is a revered and benevolent transformer god who helps the people and shapes their world for them, but at the same time, he is also a trickster character and many Raven stories have to do with his frivolous or poorly thought out behavior getting him into trouble.

In the mythology of many Northwest Indian tribes, Raven is honored as a culture hero. He is a revered and benevolent transformer figure who helps the people and shapes their world for them, but at the same time, he is also a trickster character and many Raven stories have to do with his frivolous or poorly thought out behavior causing trouble for him and the people around him. Raven is noted for negative traits such as gluttony, greed, and impatience as well as for his heroism and great deeds.

Ravens are also used as clan animals in many Native American cultures, particularly those of the Northwest Coast (such as the Haida, Tlingit, Tsimshian, Kwakiutl, Nisgaa-Gitksan, and Salishan tribes) and the northern Athabaskan tribes (such as the Tanaina.) Raven is an important clan crest on the Northwest Coast and can often be found carved on totem poles, bentwood boxes, and other traditional northwestern art.

Tales that feature the Raven as the hero are specific to areas on the NW Pacific Coast, such as Alaska and northern British Columbia and their peoples, the Tsimshian, and the Haida. In fact, the Haida tribe credits Raven for discovering the first humans who were hiding in a clam shell; he brought them berries and salmon.

PROVENANCE: Chronology of Ownership

This authentic, Raven Effigy Mortar is from the estate of a prominent collector who lived on Bainbridge, Island, WA. I acquired it from a private collector in Erie, Colorado.

REF:

The Spirit World, by the Editors of Time Life, 1992, pgs. 36-42.

Spirit Faces: Contemporary Masks of the Northwest Coast, by Gary Wyatt, 1998.

The Coppers of the Northwest Coast Indians: Their Origin ..., Volume 79, Carol F. Jopling, pgs. 117—119.

Understanding Northwest Coast Art: A Guide to Crests, Beings and Symbols, Cheryl Shearar,

Please examine the attached photos carefully as they are part ofthe description andoffer accordingly.

Note:

Each object I sell is professionally researchedand compared with similar objects in the collections of the finest museums in the world. I have been dealing in fine antiquities for almost 50 years and although certainly not an expert in every field, I have been honored to appraise, buy, collect, and enjoy and recently sell some of the finest ancient art in the world. When in doubt, I have worked with dozens of subject matter experts to determine the condition and authenticity of numerous antiquities and antiques. This documentation helps to insure you are buying quality items and helps to protect your investment.

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