Chief Oratam, (sculpture).

Chief Oratam, (sculpture).

Unknown, sculptor.

Chief Oratam, (sculpture).

Relocated ca. 1935. Relocated 1962.

Sculpture: pewter, painted; Base: boulder.

Sculpture: approx. 5 ft. 7 in. x 2 ft. x 1 ft.; Base: approx. H. 1 ft.

An Indian male stands, wearing a cape, fringed pants, moccasins, and an animal tooth necklace. His proper left leg is bent at the knee, as though he were leaning on a tree stump. His proper left arm is bent, and his fist clenched where he once held a torch. He turns his head to the proper left. The sculpture is mounted on a boulder.

Figure male -- Full length

Ethnic -- Indian -- Hackensack

Dress -- Ethnic -- Indian Dress

Dress -- Accessory -- Jewelry

Outdoor Sculpture -- New Jersey -- Hackensack

Administered by City of Hackensack, Hackensack, New Jersey

Located Johnson Free Public Library, 274 Main Street, Hackensack, New Jersey

Formerly located Municipal Bus Terminal, Hackensack, New Jersey

Donated by Harris, Mrs.,

Formerly in the collection of Harris, Dr. & Mrs., Suffern, New York

The sculpture is popularly believed to be a portrait of Chief Oratam, a revered leader of the Hackensack tribe, although it is not Oratam. The unnamed figure, instead, symbolizes the city's Indian heritage. Chief Oratem was appointed as the first police officer in the area by Dutch authorities in 1662, and his profile adorns Hackensack police cars and is on the official seal of the city.

The sculpture was first owned by a Dr. & Mrs. Harris, and placed on their Suffern, New York estate to light their entrance drive. When the property was sold during the Depression, Mrs. Harris donated the sculpture to the City of Hackensack. It was installed in front of the old Municipal Bus Terminal when it was built in 1935. In 1962, the sculpture was moved to its current site in front of the Johnson Public Library. The sculpture has been rebuilt by Progressive Machine Company (Hackensack, New Jersey).

Save Outdoor Sculpture, New Jersey survey, 1996.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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