Tahltan, Stikine River region, Northwest British Columbia
Circa 1850
Dentalium shells, beads
Width 6 3/4" (17.1 cm)
Provenance: Fred Boschan, Philadelphia, purchased 1994 for $18,500
The Tahltan people of the Stikine River region in Northwest British Columbia occupied a strategic position within the trade networks that connected the Interior to the Northwest Coast, controlling access to routes and resources that made them significant intermediaries in the movement of goods including dentalium shells, furs, and copper. Tahltan men wore elaborately decorated bags on ceremonial occasions, where materials, surface treatment, and form contributed to the social presence of the wearer. The use of dentalium shells in this example reflects the material values of both Northwest Coast and Interior Plateau trade traditions, where dentalia functioned as currency, ornament, and marker of status.
Dentalium shells were among the most widely distributed prestige materials in western North America, sourced primarily from the waters off Vancouver Island and traded inland across vast distances through established exchange networks. Their concentration on the surface of this bag transforms the object into a display of accumulated value, the shells arranged to maximize visual impact within the compact format of the ceremonial bag. The scale of the bag focuses the decoration into a dense field, with the shellwork carrying both material and social meaning within its Tahltan ceremonial context.
The circa 1850 date places this bag within the early period of Tahltan material culture documented by collectors and anthropologists, predating the significant disruptions to Stikine River community life that followed the gold rushes of the 1860s and 1870s. The Fred Boschan provenance, with a recorded 1994 purchase price of $18,500, connects the bag to a Philadelphia collection with a documented history of Northwest Coast and Interior material. The combination of early date, dentalium shell construction, and recorded collection history gives this bag a well documented position within the corpus of Tahltan ceremonial objects.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
INQUIRE HERE
Tahltan, Stikine River region, Northwest British Columbia
Circa 1850
Dentalium shells, beads
Width 6 3/4" (17.1 cm)
Provenance: Fred Boschan, Philadelphia, purchased 1994 for $18,500
The Tahltan people of the Stikine River region in Northwest British Columbia occupied a strategic position within the trade networks that connected the Interior to the Northwest Coast, controlling access to routes and resources that made them significant intermediaries in the movement of goods including dentalium shells, furs, and copper. Tahltan men wore elaborately decorated bags on ceremonial occasions, where materials, surface treatment, and form contributed to the social presence of the wearer. The use of dentalium shells in this example reflects the material values of both Northwest Coast and Interior Plateau trade traditions, where dentalia functioned as currency, ornament, and marker of status.
Dentalium shells were among the most widely distributed prestige materials in western North America, sourced primarily from the waters off Vancouver Island and traded inland across vast distances through established exchange networks. Their concentration on the surface of this bag transforms the object into a display of accumulated value, the shells arranged to maximize visual impact within the compact format of the ceremonial bag. The scale of the bag focuses the decoration into a dense field, with the shellwork carrying both material and social meaning within its Tahltan ceremonial context.
The circa 1850 date places this bag within the early period of Tahltan material culture documented by collectors and anthropologists, predating the significant disruptions to Stikine River community life that followed the gold rushes of the 1860s and 1870s. The Fred Boschan provenance, with a recorded 1994 purchase price of $18,500, connects the bag to a Philadelphia collection with a documented history of Northwest Coast and Interior material. The combination of early date, dentalium shell construction, and recorded collection history gives this bag a well documented position within the corpus of Tahltan ceremonial objects.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
INQUIRE HERE
Image 1 of 5
Image 2 of 5
Image 3 of 5
Image 4 of 5
Image 5 of 5