UNIDENTIFIED HAIDA ARTIST
Hollow Back Model Totem Pole, c. 1885-90
argillite, 19.75 x 5.5 x 5.25 in (50.2 x 14 x 13.3 cm), with later added wood base / without: 19 x 4 x 3 in (48.3 x 10.2 x 7.6 cm)

ESTIMATE: $7,000 — $10,000

Provenance
Collection of John and Joyce Price, Seattle.

The carved images seen in this pole are strong and well composed, though they may not be as smoothly finished as some others. The top figure looks like a bear, with four clawed feet and two status rings between its upright ears. Next comes what looks like a raven, its wings folded on each side, and the tail feathers pointing up from the bottom. On the bottom is a beaver, its forepaws grasping a stick held between the large incisor teeth, its cross-hatched tail turned up between the beaver’s hind legs. The pole sits upon a non-original wooden base of unknown age, to which the pole is attached for support. It may be that the pole was once taller than now, and this section of three figures was saved from it. The bottom figure has no integral base, as most like this do, and instead a painted wooden base is fitted on the bottom.

Steven C. Brown