Accession Number

Cultural Group

Material

Process

Region

Acquired

PRM Source

Dimension

Keyword

Class

Description

Wooden square box with lid, carved with a bear design. [CAK 24/04/2009]

Longer Description

Wooden square box with lid, carved with a bear design. The sides of the box are made from a single piece of yellow cedar, that has been planed, kerfed, steamed and then bent into shape. The two ends have been secured together with a row of 13 nails. At least some of the nails appear to be made of wood, rather than metal. (When a magnet was placed near the nails there was no sign of attraction.) The sides of the box 'bulge' (i.e. they are convex), and are carved in formline style with a bear design. The face of the bear extends across two adjacent sides of the box: on each side is an ear, large eye, and half of the mouth. On the other two sides are the appendages and paws or claws of the animal: each of these sides has a distinct claw in a bottom corner. The base of the box is made from a single piece of red cedar wood and is flat and square. The base is joined to the box with nails on all four sides. All of these appear to be wooden nails. The top of the box (i.e. the surface on which the lid would rest) is flat. Two of the opposite sides have been perforated, each with two holes. The lid which has been carved from a single piece of red cedar wood similarly has matching perforations (two holes on opposite sides). The top of the lid has a convex curvature to it, while the underside of the lid is flat along its periphery to allow it to rest atop the box. The inner portion of the lid is pronounced, but then has been carved away forming a concave curvature. [CAK 24/04/2009]

Research Notes

The following information comes from Haida delegates who worked with the museum's collection in September 2009 as part of the project “Haida Material Culture in British Museums: Generating New Forms of Knowledge”:
This box was viewed alongside other boxes on Thursday Sept 10, 2009. The materials were described by Christian White and Gaahlaay (Lonnie Young) as yellow cedar side and red cedar top and bottom. Delegates thought it might date to the early 20th century, though there was also a suspicion that the box was bent first and the design carved much later. There was a lengthy discussion about the pegs on one corner and whether they were wood or copper. It was thought that the pegs on the bottom were wood, but that the pegs on the corner were copper, and that possibly, there was a mix of both. Christian White commented that the bulging sides were a nice feature, and one that is Haida. He described the design as being a bear with the face seen from the corner (i.e. on two adjacent sides) and the bear claws on the other two sides. He added that having an image across two adjacent sides is common on square boxes. Discussion of this box can be viewed on Tape 2, at approximately 3:00, which can be found in the Haida Project Related Documents File. [CAK 20/05/2010]

This object was viewed and confirmed as displaying Haida formline by tribal members Vincent Collison, Lucille Bell, and Kwiiawah Jones on 7 September 2007 in preparation for a planned Haida community visit to PRM in 2009 [L Peers, 21/01/2008]

Primary Documentation

Accession Book Entry - ‘WELLCOME HISTORICAL MEDICAL MUSEUM (From Seventh distribution, at the British Museum, on 24-i-'52).... - NW. COAST AMERICAN INDIAN Steamed wooden box with lid, ornamented with oval patterns (totemic). Fastened with wooden nails.'

Related Documents File - A discussion of the pegging on this box can be viewed on Tape 2, time 3:00 within the Haida Project Related Documents File. The Haida Project Related Documents File contains video of research sessions and interviews with Haida delegates from September 2009 as part of the project ‘Haida Material Culture in British Museums: Generating New Forms of Knowledge'. It also includes post-visit communications that discuss object provenance. For extensive photographic, video, and textual records documenting the Haida research visit as a whole, including but not limited to preparations of objects for handling, travel logistics, British Museum participation, transcribed notes from research sessions and associated public events held at PRM, see the Haida Project Digital Archive, stored with the Accessions Registers. Original hand-written notes taken during research sessions have been accessioned into the Manuscripts collection, in addition to select other materials. [CAK 02/06/2010]