WOMAN'S MASK (ESKIMO? NWC?).Mask depicting woman with labret.

Though catalogued as #2 in the collection, this object is actually #4 on the detailed list filed in the accession record, and is identified there as from Knights [sic, should be Knight] Inlet, B.C..

FROM CARD: "DENAXDAX=KWAKIUTL. DANAXDOX TRIBE. (DIDN'T CHECK ? 9/61-RAE) ILLUS. IN USNM REPT, 1895; FIG. 37; P. 415. FROM AN ORIGINAL TAG: "DGIDGUNAS MASK OR THE THUNDER BIRD OF THE BALALAGILOQ FAMILY OF THE DANAXDOX TRIBE." WOODEN, WITH SEPARATE JAW, FOREPART OF HEAD ONLY, WITH CURVED BEAK, PAINTED RED, BLUE AND BLACK, EYE PART WHITE. 9/1961 THE BARK OR OTHER FRINGES ONCE ON THIS ARE NOW GONE.-R. ELDER."Catalogue card for E175524 indicates that E175523 fits on top of E175524.

FROM CARD: "DEPOSITED."

FROM CARD: "MASKS #71 (89048) AND #72 (THIS MASK) ARE ALWAYS DISPLAYED AS A UNIT. MAN AND WIFE, DISPLAYED IN DANCE." IDENTIFIED AS MASK REPRESENTING WOMAN WEARING LABRET, C. 1840, ON P. 188 OF DOWN FROM THE SHIMMERING SKY BY PETER MACNAIR, VANOUVER ART GALLERY, 1998.

FROM CARD: "WOODEN BIRD'S HEAD WITH PAINTED BUCKSKIN CUT IN FORM OF BODY, TAIL, AND WINGS ATTACHED TO BACK OF MASK. LOANED: 4/30/1965. THE TEXTILE MUSEUM. RETURNED: . LOANED: 4/18/1967 VANCOUVER ART GALLERY. RETURNED: 12/13/1967. LOAN DATA: VERY FRAGILE, COPPER LOOSE. LOANED TO THE S.I. CENTENNIAL COMM. 7-9-75. LOAN RETURNED FEB 9 1989." FROM 19TH OR EARLY 20TH CENTURY EXHIBIT LABEL WITH CARD: "HEAD-DRESS.---CAP OF WOOD, CARVED HEMISPHERICALLY TO FIT HEAD, AND SURMOUNTED BY CARVED AND PAINTED EYES AND BEAK OF BIRD PROJECTING FORWARD. EYES AND MOUTH OF COPPER; TEETH OF ROWS OF SMALL WHITE SHELLS. ATTACHED TO HEAD AND PENDANT BEHIND ARE PAINTED WINGS, BODY, AND TAIL OF BIRD CUTFROM SKIN OR PARCHMENT. INDIANS NEAR BELLA BELLA. WORN IN NATIVE DANCES. LENGTH, TOTAL, 33 INS. LENGTH OF WOOD, 16 1/2 INS. HEIGHT, 5 3/4 INS. WIDTH, 7 1/2 INS. BRITISH COLUMBIA, 1876. 20,571. COLLECTED BY J. G. SWAN. SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT HOOYEH (THE CROW), WHICH IS CONNECTED WITH THEIR TRADITIONS AND HELD BY THEM IN HIGH REGARD." ILLUS. FIG. 90, P. 115, IN DOWN FROM THE SHIMMERING SKY, BY PETER MACNAIR, VANCOUVER ART GALLERY, 1998. IDENTIFIED THERE BY PETER MACNAIR AS HEADDRESS MASK REPRESENTING EAGLE, CIRCA 1860.'EAGLE MASK WITH PAINTED TRAILER PROBABLY MADE BY HEILTSUK ARTIST KNOWN BY HIS ENGLISH NAME AS CAPTAIN CARPENTER. - BILL MCLENNAN, MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, 12 APR 1996.Clyde Tallio (Nuxalk), Ian Reid (Heiltsuk) and Karen Anderson (Nuxalk elder) of the delegation from Bella Bella, Bella Coola and Rivers Inlet communities of British Columbia made the following comments during the Recovering Voices Community Research Visit May 20th - 24th, 2013. The teeth are small shells from the sea snail harvested at the beach. It is made from some sort of animal hide and representations of eagles are found through out. This piece is typical of artist, Captain Carpenter. The eye socket and eyebrow appear to be a mixture of northern and Heiltsuk sculpting.

From card: "Ceremonial sheet copper mask used in mortuary ceremonies (killing of slaves.) Inset of nacred abalone shell as eyes & teeth held in position by rivit copper support strips on inside of mask. Skull cover of bear hide attached to top and sides of copper with cord and copper rivets. Design on crescentic extention at the sides near top indicate shoulders. On cheeks indicating ear thus [drawing] ... 9/12/1966 after removal of oxide in the Anthropology Conservation Lab, what appear to be fabric impressions are now visible on the mask surface. This specimen was purchased from the Nugget Shop Inc., - Curio dealers, jewelers, and opticians, Juneau, Alaska, June 1926, Comment: Robert Simpson, Mgr. ...'The mask originally came from Yakutat, I have forgotten the name of the native who brought it in, but it is a genuine article and is probably the only one in existence. It is the finest specimen of Tlingit copper craftsmanship I have ever seen. These were worn by the medicine men at their various ceremonies and particularly when they killed the slaves at the potlatches.' Loaned: Osaka Expo-70, July 1969 - Jan. 1971, and returned 12-7-1970." See BAE 46th Annual Report, p. 34, where acquisition of this artifact is discussed.Illustrated Fig. 15, p. 95, and discussed pp. 92-93 in Lenz, Mary Jane, 2004, "No Tourist Material: George Heye & His Golden Rule," American Indian Art Magazine, 29(4):86-95, 105.This object is on loan to the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, from 2010 through 2027.From 2008 Anthropology Conservation Lab treatment report by Kim Cullen Cobb: Copper shaman's mask in the shape of a bear's head with fur sewn to back. The mask is fabricated from sheet copper that has been shaped into a deep concavity, likely by sinking - or hammering - the copper into a concave surface. The anatomical features of eyes, nose, mouth and brow ridges have been emphasized by repousse and chasing. Chased lines define eyebrows, eyes and nose, and chased symbols have been worked into the ears and cheeks. Abalone shell has been inserted into holes in the eye and mouth area to describe eyes and teeth. A backing of copper sheet, riveted to the back of the mask in the area of the eyes and mouth, holds the abalone elements in place. Bear hide is attached to the back of the mask; the hide is sewn with twisted sinew to the edges of the mask at the top and sides through holes drilled through the copper sheet; the hide is also riveted to the brow of the mask using copper rivets. There is a seam down the center back of the hide.