Vancouver Island; British Columbia; Canada
Northwest Coast / Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka)

Cedar, pigment, hide
ca. mid 20th century
Length: 13 in, Width: 5.75 in
Idiophone – Struck – Indirectly (Rattle)

This Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) Hawk rattle is fashioned from two pieces of wood.  The upper half has open arced wings suggestive of flight.  Painted details are seen on the wings.  The neck has a band leading to the reddish colored head and beak, with green surrounding the black oval shaped eyes.  The rounded underside is attached with hide lashings. 

Stylized globular bird-form rattles were found and collected by the European voyagers in the Pacific Northwest Coast in the latter part of the 18^th century.

Resource:  Spirits of the water: Native art collected on expeditions to Alaska and British Columbia, 1774-1910,  University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA