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Artworks
UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, KWAKWA̱KA̱ʼWAKW OR NUU-CHAH-NULTH
Wolf Forehead Mask, c. 1890wood, paint, teeth, cotton string, and metal nails, 7 x 14 x 6.75 in (17.8 x 35.6 x 17.1 cm)
unsigned.
LOT 19
ESTIMATE: $12,000 — $15,000
PRICE REALIZED: $16,800.00Further images
The wolf was an important symbol for many Northwest Coast groups, but none greater than the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw and Nuu-Chah-Nulth, both of which observed high status ceremonies to address and nurture...The wolf was an important symbol for many Northwest Coast groups, but none greater than the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw and Nuu-Chah-Nulth, both of which observed high status ceremonies to address and nurture a close relationship between wolves and the ritual inductees and dancers. The tall ears, extended snout, and added genuine teeth combine to convey the wolf image. Wolf masks were most often made in this general style, rigged to be worn extending from the forehead, supported by bentwood hoops encircling the wearer’s head.
Steven C. Brown
References: For examples of Kwakwaka'wakw wolf forehead masks see Peter Macnair et al, Down from the Shimmering Sky: Masks of the Northwest Coast (Vancouver: Vancouver Art Gallery / Douglas & McIntyre, 1998), figs. 125,126; Audrey Hawthorn, Art of the Kwakiutl Indians and Other Northwest Coast Tribes (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1967), pl. XVII; and Aldona Jonaitis, ed., Chiefly Feasts: The Enduring Kwakiutl Potlatch (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1991), fig. 2.30.
Provenance
A New York Collection.
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