Nisga'a artist Norman Tait is known for his ability to create the implication of skin with underlying bone and muscle on his masks using highly finished but unpainted alderwood. One of Tait's most iconic images, to which he frequently returned, was the Volcano Woman, the supernatural being who got vengeance on several young men who had tortured her children, the Frogs. Sometimes told with other small animals, the narrative always situates her as the mother and caretaker of the natural world. Dramatically rendered as a Woman weeping Frog-shaped tears with a third Frog emerging from her mouth, Volcano Woman's story is often read as an exemplar of Indigenous stewardship of the Earth and environment. This piece is elegantly rendered in alder and makes a fascinating comparison with a very similar mask by Norman’s son, Isaac (see next Lot 25).

CWS