Symbolizing great concentrations of wealth and prestige, coppers, or tlakwa, are publicly displayed on ceremonial occasions. Among the Kwakwaka’wakw, these copper plaques are cut or broken and the pieces are distributed to rivals as a means of intimidation through a show of wealth. Visual evidence indicates that this copper had been broken into multiple sections, then pieced back together with rivets along the ridge. The painted killer whale crest design reflects a more recent addition, perhaps applied over an earlier rendering. Coppers are esteemed items, and their ceremonial transfer remains part of dowry negotiations for the Kwakawa’wakw.

Museum Purchase: Indian Collection Subscription Fund, Rasmussen Collection of Northwest Coast Indian Art.

Museum Purchase: Indian Collection Subscription Fund, Rasmussen Collection of Northwest Coast Indian Art.

THE STEFANSSON-ANDERSTON ARCTIC EXPEDITION OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM: PRELIMINARY ETHNOLOGICAL REPORT. STEFANSSON, VILHJALMUR ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS, 14, 1914

THE STEFANSSON-ANDERSTON ARCTIC EXPEDITION OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM: PRELIMINARY ETHNOLOGICAL REPORT. STEFANSSON, VILHJALMUR ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS, 14, 1914

THE NATIVE AMERICANS: THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF NORTH AMERICA. TAYLOR, COLIN F., 1991, Publisher: SALAMANDER BOOKS, LTD SECOND REPORT ON THE ESKIMO OF BAFFIN LAND AND HUDSON BAY. FROM NOTES COLLECTED BY CAPTAIN GEORGE COMER, CAPTAIN JAMES S. MUTCH, AND REV. E.J. PECK. BOAS, FRANZ BULLETIN, 15, 1907