Argillite
Length 5 1/2" (14 cm)
Provenance: Private collection, Boston
Argillite is a dense black carbonaceous shale quarried exclusively from a single site on Haida Gwaii, the Slatechuck Mountain deposit on Graham Island, and its use in carving is a tradition closely associated with the Haida people of the Northwest Coast. Grease bowls were used in feasting and ceremonial contexts to serve valued oils and rendered fats, objects whose form and material carried social meaning within the potlatch system. The beaver form connects this vessel to the animal imagery central to Haida visual language, where the beaver was a clan crest associated with specific lineages and hereditary rights.
The bowl is carved with a strongly modeled face featuring large eyes, rounded nostrils, and visible teeth, with paws worked into the sides of the vessel integrating figural and functional elements into a compact composition. The dense black surface of the argillite retains its characteristic polish, the carving detail remaining crisp throughout. The combination of practical use and sculptural presence is characteristic of Haida argillite work of the early 19th century.
The circa 1820 date places this bowl within the early period of Haida argillite carving, when production was primarily for indigenous use rather than the trade market that developed later in the 19th century. Early argillite pieces of this scale and subject are documented in major museum collections of Northwest Coast material, including the Peabody Museum and the British Museum. The private Boston collection provenance provides a clear documented holding history for the piece.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Argillite
Length 5 1/2" (14 cm)
Provenance: Private collection, Boston
Argillite is a dense black carbonaceous shale quarried exclusively from a single site on Haida Gwaii, the Slatechuck Mountain deposit on Graham Island, and its use in carving is a tradition closely associated with the Haida people of the Northwest Coast. Grease bowls were used in feasting and ceremonial contexts to serve valued oils and rendered fats, objects whose form and material carried social meaning within the potlatch system. The beaver form connects this vessel to the animal imagery central to Haida visual language, where the beaver was a clan crest associated with specific lineages and hereditary rights.
The bowl is carved with a strongly modeled face featuring large eyes, rounded nostrils, and visible teeth, with paws worked into the sides of the vessel integrating figural and functional elements into a compact composition. The dense black surface of the argillite retains its characteristic polish, the carving detail remaining crisp throughout. The combination of practical use and sculptural presence is characteristic of Haida argillite work of the early 19th century.
The circa 1820 date places this bowl within the early period of Haida argillite carving, when production was primarily for indigenous use rather than the trade market that developed later in the 19th century. Early argillite pieces of this scale and subject are documented in major museum collections of Northwest Coast material, including the Peabody Museum and the British Museum. The private Boston collection provenance provides a clear documented holding history for the piece.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
