Native American, Pacific Northwest Coast, United States or Canada, Haida or Tlingit, ca. early 20th century CE. This is a beautiful hand-carved totem pole made from walrus ivory and hand painted with red and black pigments. The upper is conical, tapering to a pointed tip with a small peg, perhaps for attaching a finial. The lower totem contains two eagles and a human head, a large eagle or thunderbird, a crouching human, perhaps a woman, holding two fish that have human heads on the tails. A great amount of symbolism is contained within this special totem pole! Size: 3" W x 11" H (7.6 cm x 27.9 cm)
This is an ESA antique exempt piece of ivory and cannot be sold internationally or to anyone residing in the states of California, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington. We guarantee that the piece was made prior to 1972.
Provenance: private Southern California, USA collection, bestowed 2006; ex-J. Malter collection, Los Angeles, California, USA, acquired before 2006
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance),
we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.
Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.
#167833
Condition
One wing is loose and needs to be reattached - it falls off the body with any movement. The base is detachable and should also be permanently secured to the pole to ensure stability. Fading of pigments and nicks to high pointed areas.