UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, TLINGIT, SITKA, ALASKA
Model Totem Pole, c. 1900
carved and pigmented alder, 23.25 x 3 x 3 in (59.1 x 7.6 x 7.6 cm)

Provenance
A Vancouver Collection.

Model totem poles have been a mainstay of the artifact market in Alaska since at least the mid-nineteenth century. This model, nearly two feet in height, is carved with three main figures. At the top is a raven with a tapered beak and folded wings, standing on the head of a man rending a sea lion in half. This image represents the story of Duktoohl, known in English as the Strong Man. At the bottom is a beaver in a seated position, the stick in its hands bent like a horseshoe, its narrow tail textured in the usual way. Its feet are drawn up onto an integral small base. The pole is attached to a larger square base, also of wood, to better balance the tall pole in its vertical position.

Steven C. Brown

References: For a history of Northwest Coast model pole production see Michael D. Hall and Pat Glascock, Carvings and Commerce: Model Totem Poles 1880-2010, (Saskatoon: Mendel Art Gallery / Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2011).