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THBEarly 20th C. Pacific Northwest Wood Totem Pole
Lot 54c
About Seller
Artemis Gallery
686 S Taylor Ave, Ste 106
Louisville, CO 80027
United States
Selling antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art online since 1993, Artemis Gallery specializes in Classical Antiquities (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern), Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal / Oceanographic art. Our extensive inventory includes pottery, stone, metal, wood, glass and textil...Read more
Live Auction in Progress ... Currently on Lot Estimate:
$7,000 - $10,000
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Bid Increments
| Price | Bid Increment |
|---|---|
| $0 | $25 |
| $300 | $50 |
| $1,000 | $100 |
| $2,000 | $250 |
| $5,000 | $500 |
| $10,000 | $1,000 |
| $20,000 | $2,500 |
| $50,000 | $5,000 |
| $100,000 | $10,000 |
| $200,000 | $20,000 |
About Auction
Live
By Artemis Gallery
Oct 3, 2019
Set Reminder
2019-10-03 10:00:00
2019-10-03 10:00:00
America/New_York
Bidsquare
Bidsquare : Exceptional Day 2: Pre-Columbian & Tribal Art
https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-day-2-pre-columbian-tribal-art-4453
Day 2 of an important 2-day auction featuring exceptional, museum-worthy examples of Pre-Columbian from the ancient Americas, Native American, African / Tribal, Oceanic, Spanish Colonial and fossils. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
Day 2 of an important 2-day auction featuring exceptional, museum-worthy examples of Pre-Columbian from the ancient Americas, Native American, African / Tribal, Oceanic, Spanish Colonial and fossils. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
View Full Catalog (300)
- Lot Description
North America, carved at the Muckleshoot Reservation, part of the Coast Salish peoples, located in Washington state, USA, ca. 1940s CE. A massive - 9 feet tall! - totem pole featuring a thunderbird at its top with outstretched wings. The thunderbird has a distinctive face, with a long beak carved from a separate piece of wood and inserted into the cylindrical face. The eyes are deeply incised and painted. Two blue-painted "crests" stand up from the top of the head, representing feathers. The body is green, the wings painted with black and white motifs. Below the thunderbird is a standing human figure with arms crossed over its chest and a mouth full of blocky teeth. Red and yellow paint on the face give this figure a striking appearance. Below this figure, the base of the pole features two fish and another sea creature. This impressive totem pole was carved as part of a fascinating tradition in western Washington State. Size: 84" W x 108" H (213.4 cm x 274.3 cm); 120" H (304.8 cm) on included custom stand.
For over 100 years, totem poles have been symbols of Seattle and Tacoma, but traditionally they came from the indigenous people of British Columbia and Alaska and were not made south of the 49th parallel. In the 1890s, Seattle began to market the city as the "gateway to Alaska", especially important as the Yukon gold rush began. In 1899, in quite the marketing effort, several Seattle civic leaders cut down a totem pole in an Alaskan Tlingit village, shipped it back to Seattle, and erected it in Pioneer Square. Tacoma, not to be outdone by what it considered the upstart city to its north, commissioned a larger totem pole that the city unveiled in May 1903, just before President Theodore Roosevelt arrived in the city. Over the years, native people local to western Washington began to carve totem poles - like this example, carved during the height of interest in the region, in part inspired by the Federal government funding the creation of "Totem Parks" where tourists could visit replicas of real totems carved by native artists. The motif of the thunderbird with outstretched wings seen here is based upon two Kwakwaka'wakw house posts from the Nimpkish village of Alert Bay, British Columbia. This totem pole probably stood outside somewhere in the Seattle/Tacoma area.
Provenance: private J.H. collection, Beaverton, Oregon, USA; ex-private Seattle, Washington, USA collection
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.
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#149826The totem pole is weathered with some small losses as shown such as some of the teeth, the tops of the "crests" etc. The weathering has resulted in several large fissures throughout the surface following the wood grain, as shown, however the figure is stable. There are some areas of old overpaint - perhaps done just a few years after the item was carved based on the wear on the paint. This item would have been kept outdoors when first made and probably for several years thereafter. The wings are removable and they have been repaired from two pieces using modern metal brackets. Several modern metal bolts are on the back of the pole to allow the wings to be attached.Condition
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