Lot 184
Native American, Pacific Northwest Coast, Canada, British Columbia, Tsimshian tribe, ca. 19th century CE. An impressive soul catcher - an important amulet used by shamans during ceremonies to restore balance and good health - hand-carved from the femur bone of an animal, perhaps a deer, to present a stylized, tubular form of 2 zoomorphic heads facing opposite directions flanking an abstract, anthropomorphic visage. Each animal head presents elongated, almond-shaped eyes with nacre shell inlay pupils, a huge mouth with 2 rows of incised teeth held open, and a flared snout which leads to the hollow interior of the bone. Between these 2 zoomorphic beasts, the central visage shows a pair of large, recessed eyes, a triangular nose with delineated nostrils, and a huge, downturned mouth exposing gritting teeth. Note how the iridescence of the abalone shell grants the animals a lively presence! Size: 6.8" L x 1.3" W x 1.7" H (17.3 cm x 3.3 cm x 4.3 cm)
Known as "Haboolm Ksinaalgat" (literally "keeper of breath") in Tsimshian, soul catchers, like this example, were worn by shaman and used to cure ill patients. Sickness and disease were often attributed to spirit intervention and possession; thus, the shaman would travel to the spirit world to recover a patient's "lost soul" and employ the soul catcher to contain the soul by plugging the hollow sculpture with wads of shredded cedar bark or other materials. The shaman would then return the soul to its rightful owner in the living world.
"Each end of a soul catcher is carved with an open-mouthed animal that Holm [Holm, Bill, The Box of Daylight: Northwest Coast Indian Art, 1983, p. 119, no. 202] suggests could represent a wolf, whale, or bear. In the center is often a human figure, sometimes with hands, arms, or the entire body shown in a splayed pose.... The double-headed monster is important to Northwest Coast mythology as a being that could change shape and move through the realms of air, water, and earth [see Guedon, Marie-Françoise, 'Tsimshian Shamanic Images' in Seguin, Margaret, ed., The Tsimshian: Images Of The Past, Views For The Present, 1984, p. 208]. Guedon [ibid., p. 202] believes the inspiration for this motif may have been the otter canoe, 'often described as having a mouth at each end
' This is one of the indications that the so-called soul-catcher could indeed be a representation of the otter-canoe." (Wardwell, Allen, 1997, Tangible Visions: Northwest Coast Indian Shamanism and Its Art, Monacelli Press, New York, p. 197)
Cf. Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number L.2018.35.23, National Museums Scotland, museum reference IL.2021.17.94, British Museum, museum numbers Am.6839, Am1949,22.230, Am1939,11.1, Am1949,22.106, and Seattle Art Museum, accession number 91.1.83.
Similar soul catchers have been sold at Bonham's Los Angeles for $125,312 as lot 18 in their June 29th, 2021 "Native American Art" auction and Christie's Paris for 72,850 euros (equivalent to about $82,654) as lot 238 in their June 15th, 2002 "Art Tribal" auction (live auction 5016). Additionally, a soul catcher of a slightly different form without nacre shell inlays was sold by Sotheby's New York for $168,000 in their October 5th, 2006 "The Dundas Collection of Northwest Coast American Indian Art" auction (sale number N08268).
This piece has been searched against the Art Loss Register database and has been cleared. The Art Loss Register maintains the world's largest database of stolen art, collectibles, and antiques.
Provenance: private Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA collection; ex-George Schaffer estate, Washington, USA, acquired between 1840 and 1869
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#168774
- Condition: Expected minor scratches to bone, some very light softening of detail, and a few stable, hairline fissures, commensurate with age and use. Otherwise, intact and excellent with impressive preservation and light patina. Collection label reading "NWC 3TE / SOULCATCHER / VANCOUVER/ BC" on base.
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