Carved Bone Thunderbird Figure with Polychrome Paint View Watchlist >
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Lot # F412
System ID # 29084593
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End Date
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Carved Bone Thunderbird Figure with Polychrome Paint
A small carved bone figure of a stylized thunderbird, wings outstretched and body incised with cross-hatched feather patterning across the breast. The face is painted with a bold green mask band and red collar markings, the wingtips dipped in black to suggest primary feathers. The verso shows red painted accents along the lower body and a smooth, unfinished wing back. The hollow interior of the body — visible from above and below — indicates the piece was carved from a section of long bone, with the wings worked as a separate inset element passing through the torso.
The iconography draws on Pacific Northwest Coast formline conventions — the ovoid eye, the masked face, the spread-wing thunderbird silhouette — though the execution is folk-style rather than formally trained.
CONDITION
Good. Paint is bright and intact with minor surface soiling to the wings and natural bone discoloration consistent with age. No chips, cracks, or losses noted to the carved surfaces.
DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS
- Overall: 4" × 4" × 1.5"
- Material: Carved bone, hand-painted
- Markings: Unmarked
