GENE BRABANT (1946-) CREE, VICTORIA, B.C.
Bella Coola Moon (Nuxalk Style Moon Mask), c. mid-late 1980s
red and yellow cedar wood and acrylic paint, 14.75 x 14.5 x 4.5 in (37.5 x 36.8 x 11.4 cm)
titled and signed, 'Bella Coola / Moon / Gene Brabant'.
titled and signed, 'Bella Coola / Moon / Gene Brabant'.
LOT 67
ESTIMATE: $1,200 — $1,800
ESTIMATE: $1,200 — $1,800
Further images
A Cree artist, Gene Brabant joined the artists working at Thunderbird Park in the 1970s, an experience that brought him into sustained contact with the artistic traditions of the Northwest...
A Cree artist, Gene Brabant joined the artists working at Thunderbird Park in the 1970s, an experience that brought him into sustained contact with the artistic traditions of the Northwest Coast. He studied historic works closely and was equally attentive to masks as objects of performance, experimenting with articulated constructions and materials such as marine enamel paint. Over the course of his career, Brabant became particularly engaged with Nuxalk (Bella Coola) forms and conventions, and today works almost exclusively within the Nuxalk tradition.
Carved in a Nuxalk style, this mask reflects the practical importance of the moon among many Northwest Coast peoples as a means of measuring time and tracking seasonal change. Its phases helped communities anticipate weather conditions, the availability of important food sources, and suitable periods for travel by land and water. The moon also figures prominently in Nuxalk ancestral histories and accounts of the first people.
Provenance
Waddington’s Auctioneers & Appraisers, 8 November 2006, Lot 1081;Acquired from the above by the present Private Collection, Toronto, accompanied by a copy of the receipt.
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