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Copper

ca. 1840–60
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
At ceremonial potlatches, influential chiefs displayed distinctively shaped “coppers" as symbols of great wealth. Individual coppers were named and often decorated with designs that referred to their histories. This example was painted black and then engraved to expose the metal beneath. The talons at the lower sides of the engraving suggest that the image may be a bird.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Copper
  • Artist: Unrecorded Haida or Tsimshian artist
  • Date: ca. 1840–60
  • Geography: Canada, British Columbia
  • Culture: Haida or Tsimshian
  • Medium: Copper sheet, paint
  • Dimensions: H. 25 1/2 × W. 16 × D. 1 in. (64.8 × 40.6 × 2.5 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork
  • Credit Line: Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection, Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY (T0715)
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing