Written on object: "from Beasley Collection, H.M.S. Grewler, 1864."

Headdress frontlet with a carved bear that can be identified by the depth of its eye sockets and the way its eyes are carved. The Bear appears to be overpowering an insect that has a segmented body and wings behind its head. Framing the carving along the sides and across the top are inset rectangles of abalone shell. Also inset with abalone are the bear's eyes, teeth and paws. The animal's face is blue-green with thick black outlined ears and heavy eyebrows. Its nose, mouth, and torso are red. The proper left edge of the frontlet was repaired and the wood backing for the abalone shell in this area was probably replaced. The object is in good condition. The frontlet might have been hollowed out at the thickest part of the piece behind the face to prevent splitting. The blue-green color is frequently used among the Tlingit while defined eye sockets are frequently indicated by the Haida. Some pieces of abalone shell in this piece are lighter and pinker than other bluer pieces and these pinker pieces may have been replacement pieces for the original blue inlays.

Chief's headdress with frontlet carved with a bear and frog and a train with ermine skins. [CAK 10/02/2010]

Wooden transformation mask in the form of a raven with beak that opens to expose a female face inside with a crooked nose and labret. [CAK 24/08/2009]

Spruce-root basketry hat with crest design painted in red and black. [JN 10/9/2001]

The paint is red and black.

According to archeological record, the Queen Charlotte Islands were populated at least seven thousand years ago. Haida traditions claim the origin of humankind in the islands, but they also tell of the subsequent arrival of the ancestors of certain lineages by sea. In either case, the ancient Haida were of necessity expert canoeists, and generations of hard and practical experience made them unsurpassed designers, makers, and users of canoes. This canoe model was made by the renowned Haida artist Charles Edenshaw. (Holm, Spirit and Ancestor, 1987)

This figure group is a finial from the lid of an elaborately carved argillite chest, the other parts of which are in the United States National Museum. This is the work of Charles Edensaw, one of the great Haida artists. Here, a bear holds the twisted body of a man in its jaws. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

Engraving tool with whale tooth handle inlaid with abalone shell.

Engraving tool with bone handle in shape of sea lion.