Kewtum kanna-suy
- Gallery: Room 93
- Maker: Kaizawa Toru
- Culture: Heisei Era
- Made in: Hokkaido
- Date: 2017
- Object type: sculpture
- Materials: wood (bog wood)
- Museum number: 2018,3016.1
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is the sculpture "Kewtum kanna-suy," created by the Ainu artist Kaizawa Toru in 2017 in Hokkaido. The artwork depicts an owlet, carved from bog wood, covered in traditional Ainu motifs, emerging from its shell. The shell rests on a cushion also decorated with Ainu patterns and feathers.
Kaizawa’s work brings attention to Ainu identity and culture, which has historically been underrepresented in collections such as the British Museum. This piece arrived at the museum in time to be part of the newly refurbished Japanese Galleries in 2018. It reflects the artist’s deep connection to his heritage through the use of traditional designs and the symbolic story of the owl breaking free from its shell. In the Ainu culture, animals like the owl can represent important themes of transformation and survival.
See it in person
Kewtum kanna-suy is on display in Room 93 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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