Lot 386: Duffy Wilson, Tuscarora Iroquois Stone Sculpture

Duffy Wilson, Tuscarora Iroquois Stone Sculpture Carving depicts a member of the false face society preparing to make a sacred rattle from a snapping turtle; signed Se-gwoi-don-kwe/ 302-NC-70, height 7.25" x length 12".
mid 20th century

Duffy Wilson (1925- ), a self taught artist, was the founder of the Hodenosaunee Council on the Arts, a group that drew together Iroquois artists and crafts people (Hawley 1990: 49). Concerned that Tuscaroran art and tradition would disappear, Wilson founded a museum where he exhibited arrowheads that he collected as well as other Iroquoian archaeological material. Wilson begun sculpting in 1969 and traveled across the country promoting art of the Iroquois. Wilson's work can be found in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. For additional information on Wilson and other Iroquoian artists, see:
Hawley, Carolyn T.
1990 "A New School of Iroquois Sculpture". American Indian Art Magazine 15(2):48-57. Excellent.

Excellent.