NORTHERN HAIDA MASTER CARVERS. WRIGHT, ROBIN K., 2001, Publisher: UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PRESS

The object is a house post made of cedar wood, dark and unpainted. Two figures include a large humanoid figure holding a small humanoid figure. The small figure is held in front of the larger figure's chest area. Each head has carved brows, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. There is also a small humanoid head with carved features between the knees of the larger figure. Frontal figures and head are carved in high relief. Back is roughly carved and relatively flat. House post is fragile. There are cracks throughout. There are exceptional losses of wood on and behind small head at bottom. There are miscellaneous holes, especially on the nose of the larger figure. Missing parts include a portion of the left hand and upper lip of the large figure as well as the left foot of the small figure. The back of larger figure's head is hollowed out. The post is very fibrous along the edge of the bottom. This house post is from a set of four (see 11.700.1-.2-.3).

Museum Expedition 1911, Museum Collection Fund

Museum Expedition 1911, Museum Collection Fund

This is a house post made of cedar wood, dark and unpainted. Two figures: supernatural bird, probably a thunderbird, holds a small humanoid figure to its chest area in front of a shield called a "copper". The Supernatural bird has a beak as well as humanoid ears and mouth. The frontal figures are carefully carved in high relief. The back is roughly carved and relatively flat. Condition is generally the best in a set of 4. (see 11.700.2-.3-.4) There are several cracks that include many large vertical cracks, abrasions, losses, scratches, and surface wear. In some areas the wood is weak due to rot and insect damage. There are iron hooks on the back, top and bottom, evidently from a former mount.

FROM CARD: "LEDGER BOOK CALLS THIS "CARVED STATUE (SHAMAN'S GUARD)" AND ALSO COMMENTS "OLD. ONE OF THE TWO CORNER POSTS." THIS REPLACEMENT CATALOGUE CARD MADE 4/14/1989 FROM LEDGER BOOK AND INFORMATION PROVIDED BY SUE ROWLEY [who identifies object as a house post].-F. PICKERING."Catalogue card lists a photo negative number of MNH2331 for this object, but that is an error; MNH2331 is a photo of a different object.

From card: "This is one of the two unpainted ones. Carved. Refer to: 231036 [card] for collecting data."

FROM CARD: "DESIGNS OF AN OLD "GARS" POST IN CHIEF'S HOUSE. POSSIBLY KLUCKWAN. "FOR INFORMATION CONCERNING THE ITEMS DEPICTED IN PHOTOGRAPHS 860 & 860A, SEE: EMMONS, GEORGE T. THE WHALE HOUSE OF THE CHILKAT. ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY VOL XIX, PART I (1916) THESE CARVINGS MAY BE SOME MADE FOR THE NEW WHALE HOUSE AT KLUCKWAN WHICH WAS STARTED BETWEEN 1899-1901, BUT NEVER FINISHED, OR THEY MAY BE CARVINGS MADE FOR SOME OTHER UNKNOWN USE. WCS [William C. Sturtevant]."Note: the Accession papers for Accession # 27833 for the year 1894 list the following objects: "TWO RECENT CARVINGS (TOTEMS) YELLOW CEDAR FROM ALASKA EX. WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION. MODERN WORK OF TLINKIT INDIAN PRESENTED BY DEPT. OF INTERIOR WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION, F. W. CLARKE REP., COLLECTED BY LIEUT. G. T. EMMONS." Accession file 27833 does not record the catalogue number or numbers for these artifacts, nor have they been identified in the collections to date. It therefore can be speculated that the two house posts Catalogue No. 169102 may possibly be the objects referenced?

From card: "8 feet high. One of the corner posts of Tlokwali house situated at Beaver Prairie, Clallam Co., Washington. Carving represents guardian spirit of builder and owner of the house. Anthropomorphic figure cut from log painted red yellow and black. Nose set on."Per Barbara Brotherton, Seattle Art Museum, 2011, house post Cat. # E298996-0 is similar in form to one illustrated on far left in drawing by Ollie Obi in the National Anthropological Archives - NAA INV08655600, Manuscript 1802, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution. Caption for drawing: "Totem Poles in the Potlatch Hall at La Push, Quileute Reservation, Wash. drawn in the colors as the[y] appear in that hall."