Inventory # A09F-E07180-004

PROVENANCE
Marius Barbeau, Ottawa
Private Collection, Toronto
Fine Canadian Art, Heffel Fine Art Auction House, November 26, 2009, lot 203
Private Collection, Ontario

LITERATURE
Peter L. Macnair and Alan L. Hoover, The Magic Leaves: A History of Haida Argillite Carving, Royal British Columbia Museum, 2002, page 56, similar figures reproduced page 58

A decade after 1774, when Spanish explorer Juan Josef Pérez Hernández had sighted and recorded the Queen Charlotte Islands—the territory of the Haida Nation—European fur traders arrived, followed by Christian Methodist missionaries in the early 1800s. Peter Macnair and Alan Hoover note, “Early in the 1840s, the Haida began to produce vertical figures representing Euro-Americans.” Corroborating this date, a Euro-American figure, in the collection of the National Museum of Denmark, was obtained on the West Coast by the Wilkes Expedition in 1841. These sculptures of both men and women, carved in argillite, were produced for trade or sale at a time when Haida society was still relatively intact, prior to the decimation of the Haida people by smallpox in 1862 to 1863. Haida artists carved these figures in a stylized manner, upright, with long narrow faces and slender bodies, hands resting on the front of their clothing. Foreign hairstyles and tailored clothes were carefully noted, as in this austere figure with its formal dress and high collar, possibly the religious dress of an androgynous missionary. Few examples of these figures are held in museum collections and this Euro-American imagery faded away in the 1870s, making this work a rare and fascinating example of Haida art from this period.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars

Although great care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information posted, errors and omissions may occur. All bids are subject to our Terms and Conditions of Business. Bidders must ensure they have satisfied themselves with the condition of the Lot prior to bidding. Condition reports are available upon request.