Object Details
- Notes
- From card: "Illus.: Brose, David S. 1985. Ancient Art of the American Woodland Indians; Pl. 75, p. 107. Identified there as kneeling feline figure; wood, h. 15.1 cm, Calusa culture, Late Mississippian period, A.D. 1400-1500. Lent to Detroit Institute of Arts, 1-29-85, returned 3-17-86. Lent to National Gallery of Art, 8-28-91, loan returned 2/4/92." Illus. Pl. 38, p. 112 (caption p. 113) in Russell, Karen Kramer. 2012. Shapeshifting: transformations in Native American art. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press. Identified there on p. 113 as a human-feline effigy, 700-1500 AD, carved by a Southeastern artist. "... [It] was carved using shell scrapers and a shark's tooth (apparent from the smooth sweeping lines and clean edges), and rubbed with a protective layer of animal fat. Panthers, indigenous to what is now Florida, would likely have inspired Native artists to create their likeness. Additionally, Native people of Southeastern North America, among others, have in their oral histories the concept of a world order kept in balance by Underwater Panthers who rule the watery Lower World and Thunderbirds who rule the Upper World. ... Archaeologists consider this figure to be stylistically distinct from all other regions. ... It is unknown who the inhabitants of Key Marco were in 700. Some scholars suggest this effigy may have been carved by someone associated with the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex. By historic contact times, however, this region was part of the greater Calusa domain and, as such, the carving was possibly made by a Calusa artist." Reference: Bell, Austin J. 2021. Nine Lives of Florida's Famous Key Marco Cat. University Press of Florida.
- Cat is carved from a dense native tropic hardwood, species unidentified. It was carved by the Calusa or their Muspa predecessors.
- Cat figure on loan to Marco Island Historical Museum Nov. 2018 - April 2026.
- Record Last Modified
- 26 Apr 2024
- Specimen Count
- 1
- Accession Date
- 1 Apr 1908
- Collector
- Frank H. Cushing
- Donor Name
- Bureau Of American Ethnology
- Site Name
- Key Marco
- Place
- Collier County, Florida, United States, North America
- Topic
- Archaeology
- See more items in
- Anthropology
- Data Source
- NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
- Accession Number
- 048531
- USNM Number
- A240915-0
- Object Type
- Figure
- Height - Object
- 15 cm
- Width - Object
- 4 cm
- Length - Object
- 6.5 cm
- Record ID
- nmnhanthropology_8061963
The 3D scan of this object was captured and modeled by the University of South Florida Center for Digital Heritage and Geospatial Information.
3D Model