Fig. 11: Helmet. Tlingit.
28.5 x 27 cm. 
Wood, polychrome, shell, copper, and leather.

The head on this helmet is anthropomorphic. The strongly rendered face emphasizes wide eyebrows, distinctive almond-shaped eyes, and the full nostrils of the nose. The large, half-open mouth reveals the teeth. A crescent-shaped diadem, carved and overlaid with copper, curves above the high-lobed ears. An emblem with a schematic human face is painted on the back of the helmet.
The materials used to make this spectacular object give it an additional prestige value. The copper on it was valued in the Northwest Coast as gold was in Europe. Thus the owner of this helmet-or any other object partly or totally fashioned from copper-was an individual of high stature in the community.