Ball-Headed War Club
Unknown Artist
late 1700s–early 1800s
Medium
wood (maple?)
Dimensions
{"overall":{"height":0.586,"width":0.078,"depth":0.131}}
Classification
Implements
Department
Art of the Americas
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
Accession Number
1991.21
About this artwork
The ball at the striking end of this club is clenched in an abstract, jawlike form that likely refers to a protector animal who endowed the owner with power. Incised on the shaft is a rich record of doodemag (singular, doodem, “totem”)—animals representing other-than-human progenitors from which Anishinaabe peoples trace their descent. (The Anishinaabeg, a group of related Great Lakes nations, include the Odawa, Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and others.) Included is an antlered creature, perhaps a caribou...