Cleveland Museum of Art

Raven Rattle

Date

late 1800s–early 1900s

Medium

wood, pigment

Culture

Native North America, Northwest Coast, British Columbia and Alaska, Haida

Department

Art of the Americas

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Rattles featuring ravens with figures on their backs may depict the acts of shamans, whose exceptional abilities allow them to interact with other-than-human beings to control weather, heal illness, or locate animals for the hunt. Such rattles may have started with shamans but secular chiefs often use them during winter ceremonies, implying they are symbols of power.

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