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Carved wooden club with a ball-shaped end / Native American

Essay/Description

Ball Club -- carved wooden club with a ball-shaped end; The knob or ball is decorated with brass tacks arranged in circular patterns. Orininally there were small, circular mirrors mounted in the center of both faces of the ball end of the club. Only a portion of one of the mirrors remains. There is a hole in the butt end of the club.

Wooden clubs were also frequently used and came in several different styles, including ball-headed and gunstock. Ball-headed clubs were typically made of ironwood and had a ball at the end that occasionally was carved to look like it was held by claws or so that it resembled a human face (Taylor 2001, 22).

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Title(s): 
Carved wooden club with a ball-shaped end
Culture: 
Native American
Date: 
19th century
Period: 
Historic
Materials/Techniques: 
wood, metal, glass
Classification: 
Object Type: 
Accession No: 
73.243
Department: 
Not On View

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