ID Number

Title

Item Name

Culture

Material

Manufacturing Technique

Date Made

Place Made

Date Owned

Date Owned

Owner

Owner

Acquisition Date

Source

Measurements

Condition

Accession Number

Cultural Context

architectural; wealth; wedding gift

Description

Roof plank carved from cedar wood, slightly convex on one side with small lip running the length of one side. The wood has some knot holes and some small holes along the lip at one end. Surface has adze marks on it.

Specific Techniques

The plank's cross-sectional form indicates that it was originally a hollowed out or scooped-out plank.

History Of Use

The planks which make up traditional style Salish houses (shed and gable) were individually owned by several different members of an extended family. Planks with lips on them, like this one, were used for the roof, while those without them were overlapped on the sides. House planks were valued objects and often given to new son-in-laws as part of the gift exchange surrounding marriages.

Narrative

Dr. Michael Kew recieved this roof plank as a wedding gift in 1955. It was given to him by Andrew Charles Sr. of Musqueam, the father of Della, his wife at that time. In a letter to the Museum in 1977 Kew wrote: "My late father-in-law...had known of the existence of the plank for many years. It was a very long, split cedar plank of unknown age, nailed on the outside, north wall of his older brother Frank Charles' big-house at Stsulexw on the Musqueam reserve. It was used as a board for the wall instead of the roof because the lip had worn away. The Charles house was where Professor C.E. Borden conducted extensive archaeological excavations. The house became the property of Andrew Charles upon his brother's death. Dr. Kew left the house plank in place until the house collapsed in 1965. He then arranged for the board to be stored by the UBC Laboratory of Archaeology. In 1977 he donated it to MOA.