Decorated canoe paddles became a popular form of wall art in the late nineteenth century, and numerous Northwest Coast examples of full-size and miniature paddles are extant. Paddles made for use were sometimes painted in sets for large, ceremonial canoes, but those were never relief-carved and the surviving examples exhibit the wear of service.

This pair of decorated paddles is exceptional in that all four paddle sides are embellished. The paddles themselves were made in the Coast Salish pattern, suggesting that, though painted by Charlie James, the paddles came to him ready-made. They may have been made to accompany a special canoe for a Coast Salish owner.

Three sea creatures and an eagle are represented, all composed and executed in James’ signature Kwakwaka'wakw style. The yellow-beaked eagle includes the unusual feature of the feathered hood, here painted in black, that extends out over an eagle’s eye. The sea creature with multiple dorsal fins is possibly a sculpin or cod, with a small fish held in its sharp-toothed mouth. One is apparently an orca whale carrying a salmon in its jaws and spray exiting its blowhole. The fourth design is an unusual composition, though most likely also a whale, judging by the tail. The head is apparently turned upward ninety degrees, and a pectoral fin extends to the tip of the paddle. A large fin, probably the dorsal, streams back from the ‘top’ of the head.

Steven C. Brown

Literature: For examples of comparable painted paddles by Charlie James see Ronald W. Hawker, Yakuglas’ Legacy: The Art and Times of Charlie James (University of Toronto Press, 2016), pp. 204-205. This book is a comprehensive study of the artist’s life and work. Examples of paintings by Charlie James depict several quite similar images of fish and birds (see Reciprocal Research Network online).