ƒ KWAKWAKA'WAKW FRONTLET ORNEMENT KWAKWAKA'WAKW... Lot 12

ƒ KWAKWAKA'WAKW FRONTLET ORNEMENT KWAKWAKA'WAKW FRONTLET BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA Height: 24 cm. (9½ in.) US$33,000-43,000 PROVENANCE Chief Dan Webber (1900-1983), Kingcome Inlet Fiord, British Columbia Acquired in situ in a Kwakwaka'wakw village, Kingcome Inlet Fiord, British Columbia Private American Collection James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Chicago This type of ornament probably originated with the Tsimshians ; its use later spread along the Coast among neighbouring peoples, notably to the north among the Tlingit and further south among the Nuxalkmc and Kwakwaka'wakw. These frontal ornaments were held only by clan chiefs or high-ranking members. Like the coats of arms, the iconography represented on the latter corresponded to the insignia of power of their owners, generally the clan emblems. Difficult to interpret, they materialize and represent the esoteric exchange between the patron and the artist. For a similar Kwakwaka'wakw mask, see that in the collections of the Portland Art Museum, inv. no. 48.3.423. Two Haida men wearing frontal ornaments and their Chilkat blankets. Left, Tom Price and right, John Robson - two Haida artists. Flemming brothers photograph, 1885-1900. (Source: Jonaitis, A., From the land of the Totem Poles - The Northwest Coast Indian Art Collection at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, 1988). To bid, please consult the "Auction Information" section.