Dance Screen Item Number: 3317/1 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Woven cedar bark screen with painted design in a vertical orientation. The screen is edged with wide strips of bark. The screen is divided into two sections by black and orange strips of bark woven into borders. The upper section is painted with a vertical panel featuring a thunderbird at top, a row of paddles(?), an anthropomorphic face, and a four-legged creature underneath. The lower section depicts a whale with a thunderbird perched on top, and a whaling vessel, which is being rained on from under another thunderbird. There is another fishing vessel on the left, and a four-legged creature to the right.

History Of Use

Haa’yuups (Ron Hamilton) commented: “Over the years, I have seen a couple of other painted mats of this size.... There is a tradition on our coast of Tlaaxsaata, Hakoma and Hikiitsim all, at times and for certain families, being danced with the dancer not coming onto the floor at all but rather staying behind a small thliitsapilthim during the entire dance. This painted mat may have functioned once in this capacity."

Item History

What

Name
Dance Screen
Identification Number
3317/1
Type of Item
screen
Material
cedar bark and paint
Overall
height 176.0 cm, width 93.5 cm

Who

Culture
Nuu-chah-nulth
Previous Owner
Westwillow Antiques
Received from
Westwillow Antiques (Seller) and Museum of Anthropology Acquisitions Budget (Funding source)

Where

Holding Institution
MOA: University of British Columbia
Made in
Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

When

Creation Date
between 1875 and 1925
Ownership Date
before September 6, 2018
Acquisition Date
on September 6, 2018

Other

Item Classes
basketry
Condition
poor
Accession Number
3317/0001