Headdress frontlet

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Photograph by John Bentham.
Headdress frontlet
Photograph by John Bentham.
Datec. 1825-50
MediumWood with paint and abalone
DimensionsOverall: 7 1/2 × 5 13/16 × 2 3/4 in. (19.1 × 14.8 × 7 cm)
Credit LineTransferred from the Knox Hall of Natural History, Hamilton College
Object number1984.470
Not on view
DescriptionIn 1883, Hamilton College remodeled its Wunderkammer, or “Cabinet,” as the Knox Hall of Natural History, where collections of minerals and specimens of flora and fauna were exhibited in vitrines in two large rooms and used for the teaching of science. Ten years later, the Hamilton Literary Monthly noted that, in addition to that material, the Cabinet contained a large collection of “Indian relics” presented “from time to time” by Asahel Norton Brockway, Class of 1857. In addition to Brockway’s gifts, the Native American cultural objects contained in Knox Hall had likely been acquired by alumni—many of whom traveled west in a missionary capacity—over the course of the second half of the nineteenth century. The cultures of the American Southwest, Canadian Northwest, and American Plains were well represented through vessels, apparel, and tools. Some of the alumni noted as having given objects to Knox Hall are Henry Kendall, Class of 1840, who contributed a feast dish from the Northwest Coast; Benjamin W. Arnold, Class of 1886, who donated a number of baskets; and James H. Glass, H1912. Upon the opening of the Emerson Gallery, a number of the divergent collections on campus were transferred there for safekeeping, including more than one hundred Native American objects that had formerly been displayed in Knox Hall, which closed in 1925, and were subsequently stored in the Anthropology Department. Several of them are reproduced here and on the following spread. (SOURCE: Alcauskas, INNOVATIVE APPROACHES, HONORED TRADITIONS, 2017) Worn on ceremonial occasions, this wooden headress frontlet would have been mounted on a cylindrical frame-work covered with fur or trade cloth and surmounted with sea lion whiskers and flicker feathers. An attached fall of ermine skins would have covered the wearer's shoulders and back. The frontlet is carved of alder wood and features stylized animal figures with red, black, and blue-green paint, surrounded by inlaid abalone, which has been restored. Holes are drilled along all edges.
Collections

Additional Details

Exhibition History 2017
Clinton, NY (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College). "Innovative Approaches, Honored Traditions: The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Five Years, Highlights from the Permanent Collection," September 9 - December 10, 2017 (cat. no. 41, illus.);

2007
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "Highlights from the Permanent Collection," February 19 - April 15, 2007 (no catalog);

2006
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "Selections from the Permanent Collection," January 16 - December 30, 2006 (no catalog);

2005
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "Hamilton Collects, A Century of Curiosities: The Story of the Hamilton College Collection," September 29 - December 30, 2005 (unnumbered cat., illlus. 5);

1985
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "Wonderful Heroes Fearsome Creatures," November 2 - December 14, 1985 (cat. no. 16, illus. 6).






Provenance 1984: Hamilton College (Emerson Gallery), by transfer from the Anthropology Department;
? - 1984: Hamilton College (Anthropology Department), by transfer from the Knox Hall of Natural History;
by 1925: Hamilton College (Knox Hall of Natural History), by gift from an unknown donor (research pending).
Markings Label: white adhesive label with "NANW53 / (E37)" in blue ink at upper reverse.
Published References Katherine D. Alcauskas, INNOVATIVE APPROACHES, HONORED TRADITIONS: THE RUTH AND ELMER WELLIN MUSEUM OF ART AT FIVE YEARS, HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION (Clinton, NY: Wellin Museum of Art, 2017), p. 118;

WONDERFUL HEROES FEARSOME CREATURES: ART OF THE NORTHWEST COAST exh. cat. (Clinton, NY: Fred L. Emerson Gallery, 1985), 28, illus. 6.
Signature Not signed.
Inscribed "E37" on upper reverse in ink; "50 [illegible] 85" on lower reverse in blue ink.
Photograph by John Bentham.
Jar
Date: c. 1900
Medium: Terracotta with paint
Object number: 1984.519
Photograph by John Bentham.
Eulachon (candlefish) oil bowl
Date: c. 1850-1900
Medium: Mountain sheep horn
Object number: 1984.466
Photograph by John Bentham.
Heron dance rattle
Date: c. 1850-75
Medium: Wood with paint
Object number: 1984.471
Photograph by John Bentham.
Katsina figure
Date: c. 1875
Medium: Wood with paint
Object number: 1984.527
Photograph by John Bentham.
Black-on-red ware amphora (storage jar)
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: c. 750-600 BCE
Medium: Terracotta with slip
Object number: 2015.6.2
Photograph by John Bentham.
Stirrup jar
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: c. 1300-1100 BCE
Medium: Terracotta with slip
Object number: 2015.6.6
Photograph by John Bentham.
Oil lamp with raised geometric pattern
Date: 6th-8th century
Medium: Terracotta
Object number: 2015.6.49
Photograph by John Bentham.
Bottle
Date: 4th-5th century
Medium: Blown glass with trailing
Object number: 2015.6.30
Photograph by John Bentham.
Ribbed jar
Unknown artist, Roman (Ancient)
Date: 3rd century
Medium: Blown glass
Object number: 2015.6.27
Artwork is in the public domain. Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Museum of Art at Hamilton…
Fragment of a relief from the Northwest Palace at Nimrud
Date: c. 883-859 BCE
Medium: Gypsum with remnants of red pigment
Object number: 1868.5
Figures in a Wooded Landscape
Figures in a Wooded Landscape
Daniel Huntington
Date: 1867
Medium: Oil on canvas
Object number: 2004.7
Photograph by John Bentham.
Untitled
Tony Feher
Date: 1996
Medium: Plastic bottles, water, food dye, wire and rope
Object number: 2012.3.4