Lot 151
Native American, Northwestern United States / Canada British Columbia, Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl), Haida, or Tlingit, ca. early to mid-20th century CE. A stunning dancing headdress frontlet made from cloth, leather, weasel pelts, wood, abalone shell, and whiskers! This is an impressive ceremonial costume used in dancing rituals. The wooden mask frontlet is carved as a stylized anthropomorphic visage beneath the face of a dog. . The features are painted in red and black and inlaid with shimmering abalone shells. This wooden panel is mounted on a red cloth atop a stiff leather hide molded into a cylindrical shape. Surrounding the top are vertical goose or duck feathers. The lower brim is trimmed with white rabbit fur. If all these were not distinctive elements, a luxurious hide cape constructed with over a dozen weasel pelts cascades from the back to hang over the wearer's shoulders! Size: 11.7" W x 16" H (29.7 cm x 40.6 cm); 32.4" H (82.3 cm) on included custom stand.
The headdress frontlet uses materials and animals that come from the land and sea that the native people depended upon. The ermine are weasels with a brown fur that turns white in the winter, a short window of opportunity to harvest the required creatures. The imagery used would indicate clan or family affiliation and was often worn during potlatches. Bald eagle down was often loosely placed inside the headdress that would flutter to the ground during the dance as a gesture of goodwill to guests. While dancing in firelight, the reflective abalone, colorful paints, and textured furs and feathers must have been visually spellbinding!
Please note this item falls under the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony Act and is not eligible for international shipping. Native American, Alaska Native, & Native Hawaiian objects are only eligible to ship within the United States.
Provenance: private Don Phelps collection, owner Todos Santos Trading Post, Alamo, California, USA, before 20000; ex-Alpha Ethnographic Art, Newport Beach, California, USA; ex-Frank Kilbala estate, Medford, Oregon, USA
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#180142
- Condition: Some losses to plumage on feathers as well as minor fraying to feathers and fur. Light matting to fur in areas, but otherwise, intact and excellent. Nice preservation of pigments and inlays.
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