Raven Rattle - Lot 67

Raven Rattle British Columbia, Northwest Coast, Canada Carved and painted wood L. 36.5 cm Presumed date of manufacture: late 19th century Provenance : - Charles Ratton Collection (1895-1986), Paris - Dr. Caby Collection, Paris - Christie's New York, May 18, 1993, lot 9 - Saul and Marsha Stanoff Collection, Los Angeles / New York - Sotheby's New York, May 17, 2007 "The Saul And Marsha Stanoff Collection", lot 71 - Private collection, Paris Shamanic rattles depicting a figure reclining on the back of a raven are among the most emblematic works of ancient Amerindian art. These ceremonial instruments ("raven rattle") correspond to the dreams and visions of their owners. Myths from the Northwest Coast (British Columbia, Canada) indicate that a Raven spirit was the first to teach shamans the secrets of their practice. The bird is depicted in flight, holding a square object in its beak: an allusion to the founding myth of the raven stealing a box containing the sun, thus bringing light to mankind. According to Wilson Duff, the raven is the creator, a mythical animal capable of transforming itself by "devouring" itself. On its chest is a relief of the clan's tutelary figure, whose face is half-human, half-animal. On his back rests the shaman: a frog resting on his belly catches his tongue, while another animal spirit grabs the frog in its beak, evoking trance and the transfer of power. The fluidity of the forms and the narrative composition contribute to the dynamism of the whole. According to Allen Wardwell (Tangible Visions, 1996), the rattle was at the heart of shamanic practices throughout the Northwest Coast: handling it produced a sound that, by punctuating song and dance, attracted the spirits to the shaman. The carved figures represent these guardian spirits and illustrate shamanic metamorphosis through composite representations of terrestrial, marine and celestial animals. This ceremonial rattle comes from the collection of Charles Ratton, a key figure in the recognition of ancient non-European arts. As early as the 1930s, he presented works from the Northwest Coast in his Paris gallery, notably at the Surrealist Exhibition of Objects organized with André Breton in 1936. This rattle later featured in the famous American collection of Saul and Marsha Stanoff.