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Edmonia Lewis, Old Arrow Maker, modeled 1866, carved 1872, carved marble, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Joseph S. Sinclair, 1983.95.182
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Edmonia Lewis's Old Arrow Maker illustrates an excerpt from the Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, in which the character Minnehaha plaits "mats of flags and rushes" while her father makes "arrow-heads of jasper." They both look up to greet Hiawatha, whose presence is implied by the deer he brought as a token of marriage. Lewis often created sculptures of Native Americans, and possibly chose the character of Hiawatha because he was from the Ojibwa tribe, like her mother.
Luce Object Quote"At the doorway of his wigwamSat the ancient Arrow-maker
…
At his side, in all her beauty,
Sat the lovely Minnehaha"
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Song of Hiawatha, first published 1855
- Title
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Old Arrow Maker
- Artist
- Date
- modeled 1866, carved 1872
- On View
- Not on view.
- Dimensions
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21 1/2 x 13 5/8 x 13 3/8 in. (54.5 x 34.5 x 34.0 cm.)
- Copyright
- Credit Line
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Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of Joseph S. Sinclair
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- carved marble
- Classifications
- Keywords
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- Occupation – craft – arrow maker
- Ethnic – Indian
- Dress – ethnic – Indian dress
- Figure group
- Object – game – deer
- Object Number
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1983.95.182
- Palette
- Linked Open Data
- Linked Open Data URI
