This model is an excellent representative of the better models and full-sized canoes of this type from the nineteenth century. It has been deduced from historical drawings and paintings of the region that this canoe design came into being in the early 19th or very late 18th century. The refinement seen in the broad groove parallel to the gunwales’ interior, and the sweeping curves of the bottom and sides from beneath indicate an experienced canoe hand in making this model.

The painted exterior designs on the sides are symmetrical and applied in the traditional areas; composed within defined portions of the bow and stern, flanking an undecorated midsection (which would be much longer in a full-sized canoe), and employing the traditional colors in traditional ways. The designs illustrate a late historic period formline style, c. 1890, with little to no variation in the width of the lines and the unusual use of design elements. With only sketchy representations of creature imagery it’s difficult to positively identify the intended crest designs on the hull, but one possible trio of attributions might include (L to R): a wolf, a bear, and a whale at the stern.

Steven C. Brown

References: For other Haida canoe models see Allen Wardwell, Objects of Bright Pride (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1978/88), cat. 71; Bill Holm, Spirit and Ancestor: A Century of Northwest Coast Indian Art at the Burke Museum (Seattle: Burke Museum / Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1987), cat. 56.