War club
This weapon was carved as an effigy of a deer’s leg. The sculptor carefully chose the hardwood so that the burled portion, where a branch was once attached, would strengthen the angled head. The heavy spherical element seems to have contained a projecting spike designed to split skulls in intertribal warfare or conflicts with Europeans in the Midwest. Highly polished and decorated with red pigment, this club would have been a warrior’s prized possession.
Artwork Details
- Title: War club
- Date: ca. 1750
- Geography: Possibly made in Minnesota, United States; Possibly made in Wisconsin, United States; Possibly made in Ontario, Canada
- Culture: Anishinaabe, probably Ojibwa, Native American
- Medium: Wood, pigment and nail
- Dimensions: 21 1/2 × 3 × 7 in. (54.6 × 7.6 × 17.8 cm)
- Credit Line: The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection of Native American Art, Gift of Valerie-Charles Diker Fund, 2017
- Object Number: 2017.718.5
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
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