Bird image
Life Story
The materials from which this object is made suggest immediately that it is of Chumash origin, but nothing comparable has been found in the literature. It is carved as a swimming (?) bird on a flat rectangular tablet, smooth on all surfaces. It could have served as a polisher or as warming stone used in medical treatment (see Hudson and Blackburn, 1986: 276). The eyes are inlaid with shell discs set in asphaltum.
Steven Hooper, 1997
Entry taken from Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection, Vol. 2: Pacific, African and Native North American Art, edited by Steven Hooper (Yale University Press, 1997) p. 293.
Provenance
Formerly in the Montrose Museum, Scotland.
Purchased by Robert and Lisa Sainsbury from K. J. Hewett in 1962.
Donated to the Sainsbury Centre, University of East Anglia in 1973 as part of the original gift.
Not on display
Title/Description: Bird image
Born: 1700 - 1799
Object Type: Implement
Materials: Asphaltum, Shell, Steatite
Measurements: h. 47 x w. 79 x d. 52 mm
Accession Number: 134
Historic Period: 18th century or earlier
Production Place: North America, Southern California, The Americas, USA
Cultural Group: Chumash
Credit Line: Donated by Robert and Lisa Sainsbury, 1973
