Mask Item Number: A8369 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

An unfinished mask. Traces of white and black paint along top edges and ears, as well as around mouth. Pencilled x's on forehead and cheeks. Drilled hole at top and in both ears.

History Of Use

This mask was used in a dance which was done when a dead person who had been buried in one place was moved to the family plot the mask represents a dead person who has come back front the grave"

Narrative

In 1959 John Davenport Clayton sold this collection of Bella Coola belongings (A8360-A8376) to the Campbell River Historical Society (Museum). The collection comprised 17 masks, headdresses, and other ceremonial items, as well as 3 cedar boxes. In 1963 the Campbell River Museum sold the 17 masks and ceremonial items to MOA (not the boxes). Objects in this collection may have come from Nuxalk households via sale, or exchange (as collateral towards money owed on goods purchased at the store), or may have been placed with the Claytons for secure storage during a time of floods and fires, and ended up remaining with the Clayton family?

Item History

What

Name
Mask
Identification Number
A8369
Type of Item
mask
Material
paint and alder wood
Manufacturing Technique
carved and painted
Overall
height 27.0 cm, width 20.6 cm, depth 10.3 cm

Who

Culture
Nuxalk
Previous Owner
John Davenport Clayton and Campbell River & District Historical Society
Received from
Campbell River & District Historical Society (Seller) and H. R. MacMillan (Funding source)

Where

Holding Institution
MOA: University of British Columbia
Made in
Bella Coola, British Columbia, Canada

When

Collection Date
between 1890 and 1910
Ownership Date
before 1959 and before April 17, 1963
Acquisition Date
on April 17, 1963

Other

Condition
fair
Current Location
Case 12
Accession Number
0099/0010