Dogfish Mask (AP)
Availability: Only 1 available
by Ben Davidson
Artist Proof, Limited Edition I of I
17 x 11.75 x 9.75"
Price available on request
- Description
- Additional Information
- Artist Bio
Bronze Cast, Granite Base
Artist Proof, Limited Edition I of I
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People of the Eagle Frontlet
Barry Scow
$2,450.00 CADYellow Cedar wood, Acrylic paint
Includes stand
“People of the Eagle” Frontlet, masterfully carved and painted by Kwakwaka’wakw artist Barry Scow, represents the Chief and his people of the Eagle clan. True to form of Barry’s fine carving, this frontlet portrays the Eagle with Sun, and commemorates Barry’s link to his Grandfather, who was a Chief, and to his heritage.
A Frontlet is a forehead mask attached to a woven headpiece, worn only by Chiefs and high-ranking individuals in order to display status. This particular frontlet carries the Eagle and Sun motif. The Eagle position belonged to the highest-ranking Chief in the village.
The Eagle lives in the sky, or Upper World, and represents status, power, peace and friendship. Eagle is the Chief of the birds, an honor he shares with the Woodpecker. The Sun is a popular Kwakwaka’wakw motif, used quite regularly in their art. The sun can represent life and creative forces as well as warmth and healing.
To further establish his high position, the Chief practiced a traditional act of discarding his wealth in front of other Chiefs. Much of this wealth was in the form of copper. To break the copper or throw it into the ocean, symbolized that he and his clan were modest of their wealth and that the value of friendship weighed more than the value of material wealth.
To assist the Chief with this historical display of modesty, a subordinate was appointed. The assistant is portrayed below the beak of the Eagle, carved in intricate detail, as one can see in the teeth and tongue of the human face. Another beautiful component of this piece are the Chief’s people, delicately cradled in the beak of the Eagle.
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Raven Cod Lure
Luke Marston
$9,800.00 CADRed Cedar wood, Yellow Cedar wood, Cedar bark, Copper, Stone, Acrylic paint
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Sea Grizzly Soul Catcher
Derek J. White
Price upon requestBone, Abalone shell, Cedar bark, Woven Leather cord
Commonly used by a Shaman, soul catchers were used to cleanse human souls and spirits. If a person was sick, or perhaps possessed by a demon spirit, the soul catcher was used to coerce the evil spirit out of the body. The open ends were caped with cedar bark to hold the soul until it was cleansed and brought back from the spirit world. The healed soul of the recipient was then returned to the body by the Shaman by blowing through the soul catcher and into to the patient’s mouth.
The shape of the soul catcher is typically cut from animal bone in such a way that the ends are flared outward and the surface is carved with figures associated with the Shaman’s spirit guides. Spirit guides accompany the human spirit or soul on its transformative journey between worlds. The ends of the Soul Catcher were sealed to contain these spirits. They also protect the boundaries between the physical and spiritual world, keeping those involved in the healing ceremony safe from evil minded spirits and beings. The symmetrical arrangement of the figures essentially defines objects of this type and the figures tend to more sculptural in appearance.
Soul catchers are extremely powerful and respected healing instruments; because of this, they were often housed in special bentwood boxes to keep them safe.
Soul Catcher: 1.5 x 9.25 x 1.5″
Including Stand: 2.75 x 9.25 x 3″
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Supreme Echo (SP)
Ben Davidson
Price upon requestSerigraph, State Proof II
2018
Unframed
(For inquiries on custom framing, please contact the gallery)
“My father’s understanding of Greatest Echo, is that this supernatural being has the ability to echo the past and bring it into the future. We dance the Greatest Echo masks to remind ourselves of our responsibility to learn the knowledge of the previous generations and to make that knowledge meaningful in our daily lives.
Yellow is echoed in each of these [designs]. It represents the knowledge of our ancestors. Our knowledge was strong before contact. It was passed from generation to generation without threat. Attempts to assimilate us and erase our identities through colonization resulted in our knowledge being muted; this was a dark period in our history. However, despite this, we continued to pass on our knowledge to our children.
Today, our connection to this ancient knowledge is emerging once again. We must continue to move forward, but, as my tsinii told my father, ‘You have to look back once and a while to see where you came from, so you can always find your way back.’”
– Ben Davidson, 2018
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Tide Walker
Ben Davidson
Price upon requestSerigraph, Edition of 77
2017
Unframed
(For inquiries on custom framing, please contact the gallery)
Ben Davidson’s Tide Walker is a remarkably expressive serigraph by one of the Northwest Coast’s foremost artists. The blend of traditional and contemporary formlines, as well as the use of rich and saturated colour, joins to create an aesthetic that is distinctly a Ben Davidson work.
Below are the artist’s own words regarding this piece:
“Tide Walker exists in the space between the land and the ocean. From afar, he appears as a dorsal fin, so we imagine his body beneath the waves. We are so desperate to be the first to see the killer whale that we allow our minds to complete his story before we have time to determine the truth. We are so swiftly lured into believing the surface story that we rarely take time to consider what lies beneath.” (Davidson, 2017).
Ben Davidson is an internationally-renowned contemporary First Nations artist. He is the son of Robert Davidson, also of international fame. Ben stays true to his Haida ancestry, while always pushing the boundaries of traditional artwork.
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37. Can U Bear to Sea It Panel
Ben Davidson
Price upon requestCast Bronze and Forton, Patina
Edition of 9
Framed
26 x 20.5 x 2.5″