Several Northwest Coast groups made model poles with fully figural bases in the first half of the 20th century, but many, if not most, of those poles were made by Tsimshian and Gitxsan artists. This pole features a Thunderbird, a descending Killer Whale, and an anthropomorphic Bear mounted onto a figural Bear base. The structure of this pole, particularly the configuration of the Bear base, the stacked humanoid Bear figure and Killer Whale, and the way the Thunderbird sits atop the totem like a finial, recalls other works from this period with likely Gitxsan origins. [1] Painted in bold black, green, white, and red pigments, this pole stands out from many of the more conservatively painted pieces from this region and period.

CWS