Haida. <em>Figural Group: Raven Surmounted by Three Seated Figures</em>, 1860-1880. Argillite, 10 x 15 1/2 x 3 3/4 in. (25.4 x 39.4 x 9.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, By exchange, 72.5.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 72.5.1_PS1.jpg)

Haida. Figural Group: Raven Surmounted by Three Seated Figures, 1860-1880. Argillite, 10 x 15 1/2 x 3 3/4 in. (25.4 x 39.4 x 9.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, By exchange, 72.5.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 72.5.1_PS1.jpg)

DOWNLOAD

Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Was this particular piece an inspiration for the artist Bill Reid?

Bill Reid was definitely looking at works like the Figural Group made by a Haida artist. Reid developed a keen interest in Haida art in his late teens/early twenties. His mother was from the Kaadaas gaah Kiiguwaay, Raven/Wolf Clan of T'anuu, more commonly known as the Haida, one of the First Nations of the Pacific coast. His maternal grandfather first taught him about Haida art. He had himself been trained by Charles Edenshaw, a Haida artist of great renown. Looking at his work and this Figural Group: Raven Surmounted by Three Seated Figures, I can definitely see similarities.

Yes me too, I instantly thought of his work at the YVR airport The Spirit of Haida Gwaii in how the figures are rendered, and setting in a vessel.

Figural Group: Raven Surmounted by Three Seated Figures

Arts of the Americas

Although the exact meaning of this sculpture is unknown, it may represent the first people joining Raven, a key figure in Haida oral history. There are many tales of Raven traveling throughout the land and water. He is said to have released daylight from a box, and he acts as both a benevolent being and a trickster, or mischievous being. Raven is believed to have created the Haida when he saw small people inside a beautiful clamshell and convinced them to join him. Here the long-haired figure in front may be a shaman, a priest who uses magic for curing the sick, divining the hidden, and controlling events. The figure at the back wears a hat crowned with chiefly rings and a frog emblem, indicators of the wearer’s important status.

Aunque el significado exacto de esta escultura se desconoce, puede representar a la primera gente uniéndose con Cuervo, una figura clave en la historia oral Haida. Existen muchas historias de Cuervo y sus viajes por mar y tierra. Se dice que fue él quien liberó la luz del día de una caja, y que actúa tanto como un ser benevolente y embaucador, o como un ser malicioso. Se cree que Cuervo creo a los Haida cuando vio gente diminuta dentro de una hermosa concha y los convenció de que se le unieran. Aquí, la figura de pelo largo que está enfrente puede ser un chamán, un sacerdote que usa magia para curar a los enfermos, adivinar lo oculto, y controlar acontecimientos. La figura que está detrás lleva un sombrero coronado por anillos de jefatura y el emblema de una rana, indicadores del importante estatus del usuario.

CULTURE Haida

MEDIUM Argillite

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS

Possible place made: Canada
Possible place made: United States

DATES 1860-1880

DIMENSIONS 10 x 15 1/2 x 3 3/4 in. (25.4 x 39.4 x 9.5 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Arts of the Americas

ACCESSION NUMBER 72.5.1

CREDIT LINE By exchange

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION An argillite carving of a bird on its back surmounted by three seated figures. It is stable and in good condition. The toes on the rear sitting figure seem to be intentionally undefined. The long hair on the front figure suggests that he is a Shaman. The 'pin dots' in the centers of the eyes on the boat show the carver used a compass to create the circular forms and if so this is unusual. The piece shows great action and movement and it thought to be one of the great argillite pieces by most scholars.

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Haida. Figural Group: Raven Surmounted by Three Seated Figures, 1860-1880. Argillite, 10 x 15 1/2 x 3 3/4 in. (25.4 x 39.4 x 9.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, By exchange, 72.5.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 72.5.1_PS1.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 72.5.1_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2005

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.

Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Was this particular piece an inspiration for the artist Bill Reid?

Yes me too, I instantly thought of his work at the YVR airport The Spirit of Haida Gwaii in how the figures are rendered, and setting in a vessel.