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INUIT & FIRST NATIONS ART AUCTION: 7:00 PM

Past exhibition
12 July 2020
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Lot 68 FREDA DIESING (1925-2002), HAIDA, PRINCE RUPERT Shark Woman, 1973 alder, hair, argillite, and paint, 9 x 8 x 5 in (22.9 x 20.3 x 12.7 cm) excluding hair Estimate: $5,000⁠ ⁠— $7,000 Price realizeD: $8,400
Lot 68

FREDA DIESING (1925-2002), HAIDA, PRINCE RUPERT

Shark Woman, 1973

alder wood, hair, argillite, and paint, 9 x 8 x 5 in (22.9 x 20.3 x 12.7 cm) excluding hair

inscribed in graphite by the artist, "Shark Woman / with argillite labret / made of alderwood / by Freda Diesing / July 1973". 

 

ESTIMATE: $5,000⁠ ⁠— $7,000
PRICE REALIZED: $8,400

 

Provenance

Collection of Dr. George and Mrs. Joanne MacDonald, Cantley, Quebec, purchased from the artist;

Estate of Dr. George MacDonald.

 

Freda Diesing told George MacDonald that this mask was carved from the wood of an alder tree that was cut down during the excavation of the Lachane archaeological site (GbTo-33), Prince Rupert Harbour in 1972. Freda Diesing visited the site just as an argillite labret was exposed in the dig. She claimed that it came from Skidegate and declared she would make a mask to commemorate the find.

 

This beautiful Shark Woman (or Dogfish Woman) mask relates to the Haida story of a female ancestor who could transform herself into a dogfish ( a species of shark). In that form she was able to enter the undersea world. She is a crest belonging to a number of Haida clans. She is identifiable as such by the gills on her forehead and cheeks. Diesing's use of argillite for the labret truly is "inspired."

 

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FIRST ARTS PREMIERS INC.  
Nadine Di Monte   |    647-286-5012   |    info@firstarts.ca 

Ingo Hessel  |    613-818-2100   |    ingo@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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