A Fine Tomahawk Once Belonging to Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant...

Description

A Fine Tomahawk Once Belonging to Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant
c. 1800

the blade finely engraved Chief Joseph Brandt, ash wood, iron, silver, gold

Exhibited:
The Native American Center for the Arts, Niagara Falls, NY

Height: 21 ½ inches

Chief Joseph Brant (alt. spelling Brandt), also known as Thanyendanega, was a complex and influential figure on the American frontier. Born in the early 1740s in what is now Ohio, Brant was a Mohawk leader and warrior who played a pivotal role in shaping the course of history in North America during the American Revolution.

Brant's early life was marked by exposure to European culture, thanks to his education at a missionary school in Lebanon, CT, where he learned English and was introduced to Christianity. This education would prove invaluable in his later dealings with European settlers and governments.

During the American Revolution, Brant made a critical decision to side with the British. The American Revolution divided American Indian tribes as they had to choose sides between the British Crown and the American colonies seeking independence. Brant believed that British rule would better protect Native interests and lands.

His rise to prominence was not hereditary, but rather the result of his abilities and astute use of family connections. His sister, Molly Brant, was the consort of Sir William Johnson, the British Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the province of New York. During the war he led a force called Brant's Volunteers, whose combined Mohawk and American Tory forces waged relentless war on the settlers along the western frontier in New York.

Following the war, the British rewarded Brant and his followers with a large tract of land in Ontario to replace that lost after their defeat. Ultimately, Brant settled on the Six Nations Reserve, where he continued to play a leadership role for the remainder of his life.

In 1775 Brant travelled to England, where he was royally received, and a portrait was painted by George Romney, which still hangs in the National Gallery of Canada. In this portrait Brant is seen holding a tomahawk which may be the one offered here. In 1797 Brant, who chose to dress in traditional Mohawk attire for his portraits, was painted by Charles Wilson Peale. That painting is now displayed in the Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia. At that time Brant met with President Washington and addressed the U.S. Congress, famously pledging that he would "never again take up the tomahawk against the United States."

More Information: In overall excellent condition. Wood with fine brown patina. Blade intact, finely engraved. No apparent restoration.


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