Lot: 118

88th Tribal Art Auction

Fish hook for halibut

North America, Northwest Coast Culture - Tlingit

Provenance Size Starting price / estimated price
American Collection (1990) H: 10.8 inch This object is not available anymore.

wood, cane, bipartite, iron hook (corroded), base.
Fishermen made their own hooks. Each hook had its own name, and was addressed by the fisherman before use, in order to ensure success. Halibut fishers required a spirit helper to succeed in catching this large and powerful fish, the designs related to that power, and were intended to entice the fish to take the hook.


Coleman, Winfield, Totems & Shamans, Paris 2008, p. 206