This figural, cut-out plaque represents a Loon and Sisiutl headdress, rendered here in profile. Primarily known for making masks for community usage or sale, Jack James also made a variety of objects, including intricate model and monumental poles, feast dishes, dance headdresses, and plaques. Commenting on James's work, Steve Brown has noted that “The influence of Henry Speck and other flamboyant artists of this period can be seen in the repetitive use of a white background design in the painted composition” and that this emphasis on white paint is “attributable to a Gilford Island style of the 1960s and 1970s…” [1] James's choice of Loon imagery and the profile view of this plaque are highly reminiscent of the paintings and prints of Chief Henry Speck (Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw, 1908-1971), another connection that underscores Brown’s point about the influence of contemporaries, and Speck in particular, on James's work. According to the Museum of Anthropology at UBC’s online database, “The loon dance belongs to the Tla'sala ceremonies. The loon is part of the Mamalilikala clan origin story known as K'ik'agawe', who was a loon that transformed into a man to become the founder of his clan.” [2]

This yellow cedar plaque is a cut-out image in the shape of a Loon headdress with a Sisiutl serpent head carved into its side. As mentioned earlier, the whole image is a Loon headdress rendered in profile, in a manner similar to print designs from the same era. The Sisiutl and details of the Loon’s wing and tail are carved in intaglio and painted in white, black, red, green, and orange. Like James's other works, the white paint is a foundational ground coat on which the other paints are built.

1. Brown, Steven. 1998. Native Visions: Evolution in Northwest Coast Art from the Eighteenth through the Twentieth Century. Vancouver: Seattle Art Museum in association with Douglas & McIntyre, 155.