Important 19th Century Haida Gwaii Argillite Carving Native Woman & Baby - $1,200 - (Chatham, ON)
Important 19th Century Haida Gwaii Argillite Carving Native Woman & Baby . HAIDA ARGILLITE FIGURE OF A STANDING . Very finely carved in the form of standing woman, she is holding a baby on her back , dressed in a long coat. The mask-like face, and features wearing a coiffure of long hair. 1840's - 60's 19th century. SIZE: 7 1/2? High. PROVENANCE: From a private collection. A fine and scarce antique Haida Gwaii Carving. CONDITION: Excellent for age. As seen in photos. Argillite became a popular carving medium after the decline of the sea otter fur trade in the early 19th century. These carvings enabled Haida to trade with visiting Europeans. Argillite carvings, therefore, are commonly seen as a tourist art because they were firstly designed to be exported from the Haida community and created solely as a means of economic prosperity. As a result, argillite carvings contain imagery that encompass both Haida and European cultures. Sometimes the imagery is mixed with traditional Haida forms melding with European styles. Often in argillite carvings, traditional Haida images are confused so that they lose their important cultural meanings. This ensured that culturally symbolic imagery was not being used as a means of economic prosperity for the community. These forms of argillite carvings also contained a lot of visual punning and joke making both at objects and animals in general as well as European culture. The argillite that the Haida use to carve is located on Haida Gwaii, formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands. The quarry is owned by the Haida who have the sole right to use the substance from that quarry for carving. Today argillite carvings are sold in galleries and fine art stores and take on a more traditional Haida forms.Haida artists have been carving the black slate of the island of Haida Gwaii for several hundred years. From its conception, the art has depicted a variety of images, from traditional Haida forms, to Western figures. Despite this, Haida …
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