Fragment: Copper Item Number: A7882 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Fragment of a copper which has had pieces cut from both sides at the bottom and one side at the top. There is a burnished line horizontally across the centre and a vertical line that runs down the centre from the horizontal line.

History Of Use

Coppers can be named, displayed, and transferred in accordance with ceremonial privilege and protocol. Historically, within potlatch economies, coppers would rise in value each time they were purchased, ceremonially presented, and strategically re-sold or given away. Among the Kwakwaka’wakw, coppers were sometimes cut or broken during rivalries. Some of these were riveted together and used again, their value then having to be re-established.

Cultural Context

status; wealth; ceremonial; potlatch

Narrative

Purchased from Indigenous family in Alert Bay by owner of Muse Galleries, through intermediary services of Chief William Scow. Used in ceremonies by families until 1961.

Item History

What

Name
Fragment: Copper
Identification Number
A7882
Type of Item
copper
Material
copper metal
Manufacturing Technique
hammered
Overall
height 19.5 cm, width 10.3 cm, depth 0.5 cm

Who

Culture
Kwakwaka'wakw
Previous Owner
Muse Antiques & Art Galleries
Received from
H. R. MacMillan (Funding source) and Muse Antiques & Art Galleries (Seller)

Where

Holding Institution
MOA: University of British Columbia
Made in
British Columbia, Canada
Collected in
'Yalis (Alert Bay), British Columbia, Canada

When

Collection Date
during 1961
Ownership Date
before November 16, 1961
Acquisition Date
on November 16, 1961

Other

Item Classes
metalwork
Condition
poor
Current Location
Case 41
Accession Number
0066/0007