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Artworks
Attr.: ISAAC CHAPMAN (c. 1880-1910) HAIDA
Model Totem Pole, c. 1900argillite, 11 x 2.25 x 1.75 in (27.9 x 5.7 x 4.4 cm)
unsigned.Further images
Significant asymmetrical features are rare in the totem pole and model traditions, so the few that exist really stand out, like this example. Here the top figure, a creature with...Significant asymmetrical features are rare in the totem pole and model traditions, so the few that exist really stand out, like this example. Here the top figure, a creature with human hands and animal feet, clasps to its body, using both hands and feet, some kind of a serpent or swimming sea lizard with a pointy nose. The figure’s humanoid head is turned off to its left, and the tail of its companion is curled over the top of it. Below that comes another strange or mythical being with a semi-animal form head and human arms and hands that clasp an unknown object or creature to its breast. The bottom figure is more recognizable as a beaver, gnawing on a stick held in its forepaws with its elbows resting on its knees. Its upturned tail is covered in cross-hatching to represent its natural scaly texture. At the bottom is carved a rectangular base with its top corners beveled off. The sides and back of the pole are straight and flat as is the norm among full-sized cedar poles.
Steven C. Brown
References: For a similar work attributed to the artist, see Model Totem Pole, Art Gallery of Ontario; See also Robin K. Wright, Northern Haida Master Carvers, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre Ltd., 2001), 282-7. Marius Barbeau devotes an extensive section to Isaac Chapman (with numerous illustrations) in his book
Haida Carvers in Argillite, (Ottawa : Dept. of Northern Affairs and National Resources, National Museum of Canada, 1957), p. 191-202.
Provenance
Private Collection, Montreal.
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