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Gitxaala. <em>Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn)</em>, 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_component01.jpg)
Gitxaala. Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn), 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_component01.jpg)
Gitxaala. <em>Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn)</em>, 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_component01.jpg)

Gitxaala. Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn), 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_component01.jpg)

Gitxaala. <em>Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn)</em>, 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_component02.jpg)

Gitxaala. Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn), 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_component02.jpg)

Gitxaala. <em>Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn)</em>, 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_component03.jpg)

Gitxaala. Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn), 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_component03.jpg)

Gitxaala. <em>Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn)</em>, 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_component04.JPG)

Gitxaala. Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn), 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_component04.JPG)

Gitxaala. <em>Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn)</em>, 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_component05.JPG)

Gitxaala. Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn), 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_component05.JPG)

Gitxaala. <em>Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn)</em>, 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_component06.jpg)

Gitxaala. Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn), 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_component06.jpg)

Gitxaala. <em>Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn)</em>, 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_component07.jpg)

Gitxaala. Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn), 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_component07.jpg)

Gitxaala. <em>Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn)</em>, 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_detail01.JPG)

Gitxaala. Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn), 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_detail01.JPG)

Gitxaala. <em>Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn)</em>, 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_detail02.jpg)

Gitxaala. Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn), 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_detail02.jpg)

Gitxaala. <em>Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn)</em>, 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_detail03.jpg)

Gitxaala. Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn), 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_detail03.jpg)

Gitxaala. <em>Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn)</em>, 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_detail04.jpg)

Gitxaala. Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn), 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_detail04.jpg)

Gitxaala. <em>Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn)</em>, 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 05.588.7348.1_05.588.7349.jpg)

Gitxaala. Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn), 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 05.588.7348.1_05.588.7349.jpg)

Gitxaala. <em>Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn)</em>, 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 05.588.7348_sticks_view1_bw_SL5.jpg)

Gitxaala. Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn), 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 05.588.7348_sticks_view1_bw_SL5.jpg)

Gitxaala. <em>Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn)</em>, 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 05.588.7348_bag_bw_SL5.jpg)

Gitxaala. Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn), 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 05.588.7348_bag_bw_SL5.jpg)

Gitxaala. <em>Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn)</em>, 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 05.588.7348_sticks_view2_bw_SL5.jpg)

Gitxaala. Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn), 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 05.588.7348_sticks_view2_bw_SL5.jpg)

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Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn)

Arts of the Americas

CULTURE Gitxaala
MEDIUM Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell
  • Place Made: Kitkatla, British Columbia, Canada
    • DATES 19th century
    DIMENSIONS Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm) Each stick: 5/16 × 5/16 × 5 1/16 in. (0.8 × 0.8 × 12.9 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Arts of the Americas
    ACCESSION NUMBER 05.588.7348
    CREDIT LINE Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Hide bag containing 65 wooden gambling sticks. The bag is made from a repurposed painted hide with red and black designs that include an eye and fin. It also has a long hide strap that terminates in a carved and polished bone ornament resembling a tooth. The strap wraps around the bag. The gambling sticks are carved of maple (verify) and decorated with various lines and bands in black and red. 8 sticks have small abalone shell inlays. Collector Dr. Newcomb supplied Brooklyn Museum's curator, Dr. Stewart Culin with several gambling sets. There are few descriptions of how this gambling set would have been played so Dr. Newcomb’s notes are quite valuable. "When bundle of sticks is indicated as holding the trump, the sticks are thrown down on the sloping exterior of the mat one by one, thus showing the content of his hand." These were reported to belong to Chief Shakes. Despite their perfection they were made with no machine tools. Nine of them have abalone shell inlaid whose game function is unknown, the rest are painted. The hide bag container for the sticks was made from an older object, perhaps a tunic or hide armor. The design is hard to make out but might be part of a face. According to Newcombe the painted mat has a design of a killer whale, identifiable by its blow hole and flukes. The panting style is similar to that of Heiltsuk artists, found near Kikatla. Gambling mat is 05.588.7249.
    EXHIBITIONS
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Gitxaala. Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn), 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_component01.jpg)
    IMAGE component, CUR.05.588.7348_component01.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2023
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
    You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
    RECORD COMPLETENESS
    Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.
    Gitxaala. <em>Bag with 65 Inlaid Gambling Sticks (QsEn)</em>, 19th century. Bag: Hide, bone, pigment Sticks: Wood (maple?), pigment, abalone shell, Bag: 8 3/8 × 7 × 2 3/8 in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund, 05.588.7348. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.588.7348_component01.jpg)

    TAGS

    19th Century
    bag
    Canada
    gambling sticks
    game
    hide
    Native American
    Northwest Coast
    Tsimshian
    wood

    TAGS

    19th Century
    bag
    Canada
    gambling sticks
    game
    hide
    Native American
    Northwest Coast
    Tsimshian
    wood

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