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    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: UNIDENTIFIED HAIDA ARTIST, Probably MASSET, HAIDA GWAII, Hollow Back Model Totem Pole, c. 1890
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: UNIDENTIFIED HAIDA ARTIST, Probably MASSET, HAIDA GWAII, Hollow Back Model Totem Pole, c. 1890
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: UNIDENTIFIED HAIDA ARTIST, Probably MASSET, HAIDA GWAII, Hollow Back Model Totem Pole, c. 1890
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: UNIDENTIFIED HAIDA ARTIST, Probably MASSET, HAIDA GWAII, Hollow Back Model Totem Pole, c. 1890
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: UNIDENTIFIED HAIDA ARTIST, Probably MASSET, HAIDA GWAII, Hollow Back Model Totem Pole, c. 1890
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: UNIDENTIFIED HAIDA ARTIST, Probably MASSET, HAIDA GWAII, Hollow Back Model Totem Pole, c. 1890

    UNIDENTIFIED HAIDA ARTIST, Probably MASSET, HAIDA GWAII

    Hollow Back Model Totem Pole, c. 1890
    argillite, 16.75 x 4.5 x 3 in (42.5 x 11.4 x 7.6 cm)
    unsigned.
    LOT 126
    ESTIMATE: $6,000 — $9,000
    PRICE REALIZED: $6,100.00

    Further images

    • (View a larger image of thumbnail 1 ) JACOB IRKOK (1937-2009) ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT), Standing Caribou, c. late 1960s
    • (View a larger image of thumbnail 2 ) JACOB IRKOK (1937-2009) ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT), Standing Caribou, c. late 1960s
    • (View a larger image of thumbnail 3 ) JACOB IRKOK (1937-2009) ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT), Standing Caribou, c. late 1960s
    • (View a larger image of thumbnail 4 ) JACOB IRKOK (1937-2009) ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT), Standing Caribou, c. late 1960s
    • (View a larger image of thumbnail 5 ) JACOB IRKOK (1937-2009) ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT), Standing Caribou, c. late 1960s
    • (View a larger image of thumbnail 6 ) JACOB IRKOK (1937-2009) ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT), Standing Caribou, c. late 1960s
    This large, well-carved Haida argillite pole dating to around 1890 features, from top to bottom: a bear, raven, raptor bird, and a bear holding a human mask or head. The...
    Read more

    This large, well-carved Haida argillite pole dating to around 1890 features, from top to bottom: a bear, raven, raptor bird, and a bear holding a human mask or head. The figures on this substantial pole are all fully realized and well-sculpted, with finely incised formline designs on the birds' wings and chests. The discretely stacked configuration and the weight of the figures suggest a likely origin in Masset, Haida Gwaii. A strong indicator of the age of this pole is the hollowed out back and pronounced taper toward the top, which also serves to create some movement in the sculpture and to lighten up the overall composition. The craftsmanship and the balance between the figures are further enhanced by the pole’s mounting on a chamfered argillite base. This feature ties the work together, giving it both stability and a refined presentation typical of high-quality Haida argillite carvings from this period.


    Christopher W. Smith

    References: For discussion of, and examples of, contemporaneous Haida argillite model poles see the section on early model poles in Peter L. Macnair and Alan J. Hoover, The Magic Leaves: A History of Haida Argillite Carving, (Victoria: Royal British Columbia Museum, 2002), pp. 77-89. See also Leslie Drew and Douglas Wilson, Argillite: Art of the Haida, (Vancouver: Hancock House Ltd., 1980), pp. 216-227 and throughout the book.
    Close full details

    Provenance

    A Vancouver Collection.
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FIRST ARTS PREMIERS INC.  
 647-286-5012   |    info@firstarts.ca 

 

The main office of First Arts Premiers Inc. is located on the ancestral and traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Huron-Wendat, the original owners and custodians of this land.  Today, it is home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.

 

 

 

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