Northwest Coast Wood Chess Set w/ Board & Book by MJF

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Connoisseur's Delight Fine Art & Antiquities

By Artemis Gallery

Jun 27, 2024

Set Reminder 2024-06-27 11:00:00 2024-06-27 11:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Connoisseur's Delight Fine Art & Antiquities https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/connoisseurs-delight-fine-art-antiquities-16181
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• Lot Description
  MJF (First Nations Canadian, 20th century). Wood chess set, board, and book, n.d. Signed "MJF" and "N.I." witih inventory number on each piece, each watchman post, and interior of book. A very unique - perhaps one of a kind! - hand-carved, Northwest Coast wooden chess set accompanied by a book with carved-wood covers containing the story of "Raven Steals Sun and Places Him Into the Sky" and an explanation of the artist's concept for the set as well as each piece. The elaborate chessboard is rendered in the style of a Northwest Coastal Native American Lodge House with the roof shingles serving as the board squares and Watchmen totems at each corner rather than corner posts, accompanied by a wood-covered book. The box contains two drawers that hold the chess pieces, each with a Raven drawer front that also serves as the handle and latch. Size of largest piece: 2.1" L x 1" W x 6.5" H (5.3 cm x 2.5 cm x 16.5 cm); of book: 10.8" L x 1.3" W x 9.1" H (27.4 cm x 3.3 cm x 23.1 cm); of board / box: 22.25" L x 22.25" W x 8.5" H (56.5 cm x 56.5 cm x 21.6 cm)
  
  The chess pieces themselves are representative of the four types of totem poles carved by the people of the Northwest Coast: house poles, story poles, memorial poles, and mortuary poles. The pawns, however, are single examples of many different characters and animals that were carved and displayed by First Nations people, such as a sun, a raven, a thunderbird, a mosquito, an eagle, a human, a fog woman, a good luck woman, a weeping woman, a bear, a frog, a beaver, a dogfish, and a killer whale. The artist has left the designation of each piece up to the player, allowing the act of discovering and identifying what each carving or character is to become a part of the adventure of the game!
  
  In the book, the artist explains his concepts for the set: "The N.W. coastal peoples lived in large family groups. Grandfathers, fathers, sons, several generations of families, would be living in one structure. The Haida mostly built two basic types of lodge houses. A two beam structure and a six beam structure. Using a post and beam method they would construct these lodges from huge cedar logs. Considering the tools and equipment available it surely was quite a feat.
  
  I wanted to do something different with this chess set. The coastal peoples kept their treasures in boxes. When I carve an item, if possible, I like to make a box in which it can be stored. For a long time I played with the idea of using the form of a six pole lodge house rather than a box. However there were a couple problems to be overcome. A lodge house does not have a flat roof and the corner posts and house pole would get in the way of play. It took some thinking but these problems were overcome. I decided upon a combination of the basic shape of a Bentwood Box, a Six Pole Lodge House, with a bit of present day furniture construction thrown in.
  
  Naturally the pitched roof had to be flattened and the smoke hole eliminated. The roof shingles became the squares for the playing surface. I decided to carve Raven drawer fronts which are also the handles and latches. I then placed a Watchman at each corner rather than a corner post. Together these features represent the house frontal pole, corner posts, and entrance. Inside these lodges family members would create their own spaces to live in and store personal items.
  
  Under the roof is a large area. To open this space you need to pull the protruding piece of the beam, it actually is a peg, that extends from the hat of each watchman, and lift the roof section. Be Careful! Each peg must be returned to its original place. The ends of the beams and pegs are marked. If you take your hand, slip it inside the open drawer, pushing it upward with your fingertips, the bottom section of the space under the roof will lift so it can be removed. Giving you access to the area between the drawer sides and lodge walls. You can also access the space under each drawer at this point.
  
  The chess pieces themselves are representative of the four types of totem poles carved by the N.W. coastal peoples. These are known as, house poles, story poles, memorial poles, and mortuary poles. The pawns are single examples of many different characters and animals that were carved and displayed by the coastal peoples. A lot which have been described within this writing. A few may have not.
  
  It was my thought to include an index. The pieces are numbered as are most of my carvings. Perhaps, it was the old Trickster himself, but towards the end, the thought came. That part of the adventure of the chess set itself is discovering and identifying what each carving or character is. So, there is an index, but only with carving numbers listed. A place for someone, if they desire, to fill in what it is, has been provided. Maybe Raven will continue to work his magic and the description columns will remain empty. Leaving the adventure of discovery and discussion open for the next person."
  
  Please note this item may fall under the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony Act and may not be eligible for international shipping. Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian objects are only eligible to ship within the United States.
  
  Provenance: private Alpine, Utah, 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.
  
  We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
  
  #185161

  Condition

  Signed "MJF" and "N.I." with inventory number on each piece, each watchman post, and interior of book. Signed "MJF" again on page with explanation of chess pieces. Underside of board that connects to box has been professionally repaired with chipping and some small losses. One watchman is missing a peg and one rook is missing a small beak. Chip to one drawer which inhibits it from locking, but it still closes properly. A few minor chips, nicks, and abrasions to board and pieces, as well as small encrustation t to book cover and discoloring and minor wrinkling to book pages; all text is still clear and legible. Otherwise, in good condition with all pieces still present and nicely preserved pigments and detail.
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