Bentwood Chest Panel Item Number: 2612/1 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Description
Rectangular wooden chest front with black and red painted expansive design. Design is bilaterally symetrical and heavily stylized. Eight sets of holes along left side, with some remnants of rope fibre.
Narrative
Listed by the seller as having been found near Bella Coola; if the information is correct, the last owner of the chest at that time is presumed to have been Nuxalk. There are other known boxes and chests collected on the central coast that are painted and/or carved with northern-style imagery. In comparing details of this panel to boxes and chests shown in the book "The Transforming Image," it shows particular similarities to ones attributed to both the Heiltsuk and the Haida. The panel has some characteristics of Haida chest imagery, and shows similarities to MOA chest A8211, that Wilson Duff attributed as Haida and Bill McLennan argued as Heiltsuk in origin (pp. 18-19, 21); it is also similar to box AA893 in the MOV collection attributed as “Heiltsuk or Haida” (p. 17). There are other Heiltsuk chests that Bill McLennan described as Heiltsuk in style, but strongly influenced by a more northern style (p. 170-71, figs 6.27, 6.28). It could be that the original painted chest was acquired by a Nuxalk person through trade, gift, or another form of exchange, from a Heiltsuk or Haida community.
Item History
- Made in British Columbia, Canada
- Collected in Bella Coola, British Columbia, Canada
- Owned by Douglas Reynolds Gallery before December 18, 2003
- Received from Douglas Reynolds Gallery (Seller) and Museum of Anthropology Acquisitions Budget (Funding source) on December 18, 2003
What
- Name
- Bentwood Chest Panel
- Identification Number
- 2612/1
- Type of Item
- panel
- Material
- wood, plant fibre, metal and paint
- Overall
- height 47.5 cm, width 75.0 cm, depth 1.7 cm
Who
- Culture
- Nuxalk ?
- Previous Owner
- Douglas Reynolds Gallery
- Received from
- Douglas Reynolds Gallery (Seller) and Museum of Anthropology Acquisitions Budget (Funding source)
Where
- Holding Institution
- MOA: University of British Columbia
- Made in
- British Columbia, Canada
- Collected in
- Bella Coola, British Columbia, Canada
When
- Ownership Date
- before December 18, 2003
- Acquisition Date
- on December 18, 2003
Other
- Condition
- poor
- Current Location
- Case 12
- Accession Number
- 2612/0001