What is it?
This ceremonial yew-wood weapon – dating to the late 18th century – was made by the Nuu-cha-nulth people of the Pacific North-west Coast of Canada. Measuring 25cm in length, the club handle is decorated with black human hair and inlaid with snail-shell opercula and the teeth of sea otters. A curved steatite stone protrudes downward from the handle to form the aggressively protruding tongue of a carved figure, tapering upwards to depict the beak of a bird on the reverse side.
The bottom of the handle is decorated with a small owl atop a stylised double face, while Thunderbird – a legendary creature that symbolises power and strength for many of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific coast – appears on the top of the club.
Where was it found, and when?
The Thunderbird club was collected by the British explorer Captain James Cook in 1778, during his voyage in Nootka Sound (western coast of Canada) between the territories of the Nuu-cha-nulth and the Makah. Sailing in the sloops Resolution and Discovery, Cook and his crew entered the sound while on an expedition to find a western portal to the North-west Passage. In March 1778, they became the first Europeans on record to land on Vancouver Island.
Pilgrimage cities