An exceptional example of Haida argillite carving, this hollow back pole incorporates the imagery of a known, historic interior house post in its design. It’s unusual, but not unheard of, for argillite poles to reference monumental poles or house posts. The top half of this pole, which features a raven with two frogs hanging from its beak, a human wearing a conical hat emerging from the raven’s body, and a thunderbird with a transverse killer whale in its grasp is an iteration of an interior house post now in the collection of the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, BC. [1] The bottom half of the pole depicts a bear mother holding her two cubs and a frog. [2] The level of detail is breathtaking, with every piece connecting to or interacting with every other aspect of the pole. The myriad tongues, faces, fingers, and teeth present in every recess of this carving are a pleasure to admire, with the currently unknown Haida master carver cutting no corners in the execution of this sculpture.

1. For an illustration and more info on the interior house post on which this pole is based, see Robin K. Wright’s Skidegate House Models: From Haida Gwaii to the Chicago World’s Fair and Beyond (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2024), page 94, figure 3.68.

2. For an example of a very similar image to the bear mother figure, cubs, and frog, see ibid., page 121, figure 3.106.

Christopher W. Smith