NUU-CHAH-NULTH THUNDERBIRD CLUB

Reputedly Maquinna, Chief of the Mowachaht Nuu-chah-nulth, Yuquot, circa 1802

Possibly Commodore Rochfort Maguire (1815-1867), presumably collected in situ

George Terasaki, New York, acquired in the 1970s

Steven C. Brown, Transfigurations: North Pacific Coast Art. George Terasaki, Collector, Seattle, 2006, n.p., pl. 71 (two views)

The club is one of if not the longest in existence, and is said to have been the property of Maquinna, the leading Mowachaht chief at Yuquot village at the time of the capture of John Jewitt in 1802. Jewitt (the ship’s blacksmith) and his friend Thompson were the only survivors from the crew of the American trading ship Boston, which was surprise-attacked, looted, and burned in response to affronts to the Mowachaht officers and crew. The club shows many indications of being extremely old. The deep brown/black color, which few such clubs exhibit, suggests generations of use and exposure to smoky house interiors. It may also be possible that the club spent some of its life buried in the ground, and was colored by elements in the soil. The shape of the blade is more gently tapered and rounded on the tip than are many related examples.

The pommel sculpture depicts a profile thunderbird with a bird “headdress”, and displays characteristics that are both archaic and unusual. A particularly strong and powerful curve to the beak defines this as the thunderbird image. The surmounting bird-head is very simple, with only a small circle for the eye and very minimal use of incising to indicate the beak and other features. The cheek or jaw area of the thunderbird includes a large oval in which a frontal face is delicately carved, using very basic elements. Though such faces do appear on a few other bone clubs (typically on the end of the blade) this club is unique in having this feature within the face of the main image.

The row of seven incised circles that extends down the length of this blade is an unusual motif for such a club. Each circle has a round depression within it. more or less off center, and a radial spray of short, incised lines around one half of the circumference. The depiction or meaning intended by the circle forms is unclear, but the appearance of the shapes is very archaic in appearance. All of the aforementioned characteristics combine to indicate that this club is probably one of the oldest in existence, in addition to being one of the largest.

Steven C. Brown