Attributed to CHIEF SAMUEL (SAM) HENDERSON (1905-1982) KWAKWA̱KA̱ʼWAKW
each unsigned.
ESTIMATE: $2,500 — $3,500
PRICE REALIZED: $2,318.00
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Chief Samuel “Sam” Henderson was the son of a Scottish engineer and a high-ranking Kwakwaka’wakw mother. He was also the patriarch of the Henderson family of carvers, with many of his descendants today considered master carvers in their own right. [1] Although unsigned, these two pieces are attributed to Henderson based on the structure of the eyes and the rows of repeating u-forms on the cheeks, above the eyebrows, and around the mouths of the masks that form reticulating patterns. The attribution also stems from the colour palette, particularly the shade of brown and grey used on both masks, which have been used on a number of known pieces by Henderson.
According to the Museum at Campbell River, Henderson’s childhood was spent traveling around to different Kwakwaka’wakw communities visiting his mother’s relatives, particularly in Blunden Harbour and Alert Bay. [2] The influence of the Blunden Harbour style is especially apparent in these two earlier masks, with their white undercoat of paint and intense stares created by the tight, concentric circles of the pupils. The mask on the left depicts an anthropomorphic bird, perhaps an eagle or thunderbird. The orangish-yellow paint on the bridge of the nose and above the nostrils indicate a beak while the rows of u-forms on the cheeks imply feathers and outstretched bird wings. The mask to the right is likely a portrait mask, with a white undercoat of paint and prominently carved and painted teeth in its mouth. There are currently wood brackets in the back of the masks for wall mounting, but these can be removed, and strings can be re-laced into the holes on the sides of the masks for display if the buyer so desires.
2. http://campbellriver.crmuseum.ca/photograph/may-and-sam-henderson
Christopher W. Smith
Provenance
Important Private Collection, Pittsburgh, PA.Join Our Mailing List
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