$1,050.00
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ca. 1930
Fish 2.25" H x 7.375" L x 2.25" W Stick 12.25" L x .625" D
Hand Carved Wood with Painted Green, Red, Black and White Colors with Four Metal Fins and two Yellow Beads for Eyes with a Stick and String
Excellent Condition
Chippewa (Ojibwe) fish decoy from the Lac du Bois area (likely a variant or misspelling of Lac du Flambeau, a historic Ojibwe reservation in northern Wisconsin, USA, known for its French name meaning "Lake of the Torches"). These are traditional Native American ice-fishing decoys carved by Chippewa artisans, used for spearfishing through ice holes in winter.
Fish decoys are one of the oldest forms of American folk art, dating back over 1,000 years among Indigenous peoples around the Great Lakes and Bering Sea. The Chippewa (also called Ojibwe) of the upper Midwest refined this craft for practical spearfishing, believing the decoys captured the "innua" (spirit) of the fish to attract prey like walleye, pike, or sturgeon. By the 19th–20th centuries, they became both functional tools and collectible art, especially during the Great Depression when fishing was a survival skill.
Provenance: From the Len and Toni Wood Private Collection, Laguna Beach, California
Condition:
Excellent
Tribe:
Chippewa / Ojibwe
Year Range:
1925 - 1950
Region:
Great Lakes
Dimensions:
2.25 in7.38 in2.25 in12.25 in0.63 in
