Wooden Figure
Gwa'sala Kwakwaka'wakw
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Caption
Gwa'sala Kwakwaka'wakw. Wooden Figure, late 19th century. Wood, hair, red pigment, 53 1/2 x 14 1/2 x 6 in. (135.9 x 36.8 x 15.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, X1118.1. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Wooden Figure
Date
late 19th century
Geography
Place made: British Columbia, Canada
Medium
Wood, hair, red pigment
Classification
Dimensions
53 1/2 x 14 1/2 x 6 in. (135.9 x 36.8 x 15.2 cm)
Credit Line
Brooklyn Museum Collection
Accession Number
X1118.1
Frequent Art Questions
What is a potlatch ceremony?
Potlatches were elaborate feasts, usually held in the winter that included ceremonies.They could range from minor events for children at various times in their life cycle, to more significant festivals celebrating the assumption of dance privileges to great, elaborate events including many activities: the assumption of chiefly name and position, the exchange of coppers (objects that looks like a shield made from copper with symbolic designs on it and is of great value and prestige), marriages, the erection of totem poles, and the buildings of houses. On each of these occasions, guests received payment from the host for their service as witnesses; their acceptance of these payments signified their validation of their host's claims of status, so they were also a way to re-distribute wealth within communities. Payments included button blankets (trade blankets with trade buttons sewn on in clan designs), and towering stacks of Hudson Bay trade blankets. Button Blankets were regalia that was generally worn by women. Other forms of payments included feast dishes carved from wood and horn, and coppers (pieces of valuable metal also sometimes carved), dance regalia, food, and elaborately carved rattles.
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