ATTRIBUTED TO PAUL JONES (c. 1847-1927), SKIDEGATE, HAIDA GWAII
Model Totem Pole, c. 1900-1910
argillite, 10 x 2.5 x 2.25 in (25.4 x 6.3 x 5.7 cm)

ESTIMATE: $2,500 — $3,500

Provenance
Private Collection;
A Vancouver Collection.

By the time this argillite model pole was carved, probably after 1900, changes in the evolving tradition had taken place as new generations of carvers took up their tools. Originally proportioned like the wooden poles from which their form was developed, wider than they were deep, argillite poles became deeper than their width, enabling figures to be more readily developed in terms of sculptural depth. Also, they were not hollowed out at the back as early argillite examples had been.

The figures on this pole are not all readily recognizable. On top is most likely an eagle, or possibly a thunderbird. Below the tail, wingtips, and feet of the bird is a humanoid face, its truncated body nestled between the ears of the bottom figure. That figure is difficult to identify; it has a downturned beak like an eagle but no wings or tail and lacks feet but has the long-fingered hands associated with Paul Jones’s style.

Steven C. Brown

References: See the section on Paul Jones and his brother Moses in Marius Barbeau, Haida Carvers in Argillite, (Ottawa : Dept. of Northern Affairs and National Resources, National Museum of Canada, 1957), pp. 110-117.