Dance Screen Item Number: A4327 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Description
White cotton dance screen with black design. The design is a raven motif in profile with wings and legs extended. There is a bear-like figure in the torso. The motifs are painted in black with an oil spread into the fabric beyond the black outlines. The design is cut off on both sides. The top and bottom edges are hemmed. There are holes along the top edge for hanging.
History Of Use
Large cotton sheets painted with the Tsetseka spirit of the dancing house replaced earlier painted cedar plank walls. Each dancing house had its own spirit-painted curtain which was used as a screen to close off the rear part of the house, providing a space for masks and other ceremonial objects to be placed in readiness for the dancers. This space was strictly forbidden to uninitiated people. Entrance of the dancers was from the right of the screen and exits were to the left.
Cultural Context
ceremonial
Specific Techniques
Commercial cotton fabric is painted black, either with water pigment, mud and charcoal, or commercial paint.
Iconographic Meaning
Raven is one of the supernatural beings who inhabit the earth. Local groups and families trace descent among the myth people to an ancestor who received special powers and privileges from the supernatural beings. These might include songs, dances, and the right to wear particular crests.
Item History
- Made in British Columbia, Canada before 1953
- Collected in Kingcome Inlet, British Columbia, Canada and Ukwanalis, British Columbia, Canada
- Owned by Mary Webber before June 1953
- Received from H. R. MacMillan (Funding source) and Mary Webber (Seller) during June 1953
What
- Name
- Dance Screen
- Identification Number
- A4327
- Type of Item
- screen
- Material
- cotton fibre, charcoal pigment and oil
- Manufacturing Technique
- painted
- Overall
- height 2.2 m, width 1.5 m
Who
- Culture
- Kwakwaka'wakw
- Previous Owner
- Mary Webber
- Received from
- H. R. MacMillan (Funding source) and Mary Webber (Seller)
Where
- Holding Institution
- MOA: University of British Columbia
- Made in
- British Columbia, Canada
- Collected in
- Kingcome Inlet, British Columbia, Canada and Ukwanalis, British Columbia, Canada
When
- Creation Date
- before 1953
- Ownership Date
- before June 1953
- Acquisition Date
- during June 1953
Other
- Item Classes
- textiles
- Condition
- fair
- Accession Number
- 1883/0001