UNIDENTIFIED TLINGIT ARTIST, POSSIBLY KLUKWAN, ALASKA
unsigned.
LOT 98
ESTIMATE: $3,000 — $5,000
PRICE REALIZED: $3,360.00
Further images
A stack of three figures makes up this totem pole model by an unknown Tlingit artist. The top figure is most likely an eagle or possibly a thunderbird. The beak turns back to cover the upper lip. The wings are folded about the body and feature parallel slits to represent rows of feathers. The middle figure may be a raven, or possibly a long-beaked heron or crane. On either side of the beak the bird’s feet are tucked up against its body. The bottom figure appears to be a bear, with its front paws pulled up against its chest. It displays no teeth, but the low ears and general posture suggest the bear identity. The back of the pole is partially hollowed out as it would be on a full-sized totem pole, to reduce weight and help prevent deep cracks from forming in dry weather.
Steven C. Brown
It has been suggested that this model pole might have been carved by the Klukwan carver Jim Watson (1880-1930). It has stylistic characteristics that might place it in the “Klukwan School.” The pole is painted in weathered original pigments of red, green, black, and white.
References: For a pair of totem pole candleholders c. 1920 attributed to the Tlingit carver James Watson see Michael D. Hall and Pat Glascock, Carvings and Commerce: Model Totem Poles 1880-2010, (Saskatoon: Mendel Art Gallery / Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2011), cat. 182, p. 191.
Provenance
Private Collection, USA;A Vancouver Collection.
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