History of the United States in 100 Objects -- 11: Human-Effigy War Club, ca. 1640s Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrong

--Made of Hickory wood, shells, and copper on the Atlantic coast of North America, ca. 1640s
--Held in the collection of Skokloster Castle, Sweden

This elaborately carved and ornamented wooden weapon was most likely ceremonial, created by a Lenape Indian artist to represent the authority of a chieftain or warrior. But how did this priceless Native American artifact end up in the collection of a castle in Sweden? This object and its journey tell a largely forgotten story of Sweden's moment of imperial glory and ambition in the mid-1600s, which left a mysterious imprint in North America.

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Suggested further reading: James Nordin, "The Center of the World," Journal of Materical Culture, 2013 -- http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.1032.4165&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Image courtesy of Skokloster Castle.