Mask With Appendage

Item number E20571-0 from the National Museum of Natural History.

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Notes

FROM CARD: "WOODEN BIRD'S HEAD WITH PAINTED BUCKSKIN CUT IN FORM OF BODY, TAIL, AND WINGS ATTACHED TO BACK OF MASK. LOANED: 4/30/1965. THE TEXTILE MUSEUM. RETURNED: . LOANED: 4/18/1967 VANCOUVER ART GALLERY. RETURNED: 12/13/1967. LOAN DATA: VERY FRAGILE, COPPER LOOSE. LOANED TO THE S.I. CENTENNIAL COMM. 7-9-75. LOAN RETURNED FEB 9 1989." FROM 19TH OR EARLY 20TH CENTURY EXHIBIT LABEL WITH CARD: "HEAD-DRESS.---CAP OF WOOD, CARVED HEMISPHERICALLY TO FIT HEAD, AND SURMOUNTED BY CARVED AND PAINTED EYES AND BEAK OF BIRD PROJECTING FORWARD. EYES AND MOUTH OF COPPER; TEETH OF ROWS OF SMALL WHITE SHELLS. ATTACHED TO HEAD AND PENDANT BEHIND ARE PAINTED WINGS, BODY, AND TAIL OF BIRD CUTFROM SKIN OR PARCHMENT. INDIANS NEAR BELLA BELLA. WORN IN NATIVE DANCES. LENGTH, TOTAL, 33 INS. LENGTH OF WOOD, 16 1/2 INS. HEIGHT, 5 3/4 INS. WIDTH, 7 1/2 INS. BRITISH COLUMBIA, 1876. 20,571. COLLECTED BY J. G. SWAN. SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT HOOYEH (THE CROW), WHICH IS CONNECTED WITH THEIR TRADITIONS AND HELD BY THEM IN HIGH REGARD." ILLUS. FIG. 90, P. 115, IN DOWN FROM THE SHIMMERING SKY, BY PETER MACNAIR, VANCOUVER ART GALLERY, 1998. IDENTIFIED THERE BY PETER MACNAIR AS HEADDRESS MASK REPRESENTING EAGLE, CIRCA 1860.'EAGLE MASK WITH PAINTED TRAILER PROBABLY MADE BY HEILTSUK ARTIST KNOWN BY HIS ENGLISH NAME AS CAPTAIN CARPENTER. - BILL MCLENNAN, MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, 12 APR 1996.Clyde Tallio (Nuxalk), Ian Reid (Heiltsuk) and Karen Anderson (Nuxalk elder) of the delegation from Bella Bella, Bella Coola and Rivers Inlet communities of British Columbia made the following comments during the Recovering Voices Community Research Visit May 20th - 24th, 2013. The teeth are small shells from the sea snail harvested at the beach. It is made from some sort of animal hide and representations of eagles are found through out. This piece is typical of artist, Captain Carpenter. The eye socket and eyebrow appear to be a mixture of northern and Heiltsuk sculpting.

Item History

What

Name
Mask With Appendage
Identification Number
E20571-0
Type of Item
mask

Where

Holding Institution
National Museum of Natural History
Made in
British Columbia, Canada
Collected in
British Columbia, Canada

Who

Culture
Bella Bella (Heiltsuk)
Field Collector
James G. Swan

When

Acquisition Date
during 1876

Other

Accession Number
004686

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