Prayer stick

Description

Prayer stick (ikupasuy), wooden stick with pointed end, abstract designs carved in low relief and coated in red and black lacquer, probably carved by an Ainu craftsman then lacquered by a Japanese artisan, used in Ainu ceremonies: Japan, Hokkaido, Ainu, 19th century

Museum reference

A.1959.54

Collection

World Culture

Object name

Prayer stick, Ikupasuy

Production information

Unknown
Hokkaido, Japan, East Asia

Date

19th century

Style / Culture

Ainu people (Hokkaido), Japanese

Materials

Wood, Lacquer

Physical description

Wood; one side carved with broad red scrolls on a brown scale-diapered field

Exhibitions

• Living Lands (29 Jul 2011)
  National Museum of Scotland

• A Scottish Physician's View: Craft and Spirit of the Ainu from the N. G. Munro Collection (26 Apr 2002 - 01 Sep 2002)
  Historical Museum of Hokkaido
  Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Cultural History

References

A Scottish Physician's View: Craft and Spirit of the Ainu from the N. G. Munro Collection (2002), no. 130 (p.39)

On display

national museum of scotland »
level 1 »
world cultures, living lands »
co.5