Lot #76: Haida Carved Cedar Panel, After Bill Reid Screen 1968 Royal BC Museum

In 1968 the British Columbia Provincial Museum in Victoria (now the Royal BC Museum) commissioned Bill Reid to make Cedar Screen, a large panel carved from laminated red cedar. It depicts a complex entanglement of human and animal relations drawn from Haida narratives, reflecting the animate quality of daily life and cultural practice. Clockwise from the top left, we see the Raven (Xhuuya) cuckolding the fisherman; Nanasimgit and a Killer Whale; the Seawolf clenching a whale in his teeth; the Eagle and the Frog; and the Bear Mother story with the Cubs, the Hunter, the Bear Father, the Hunters Dog, and the Bear Mother in her human form. Close to the centre is the Fisherman, halibut hook or yagw taawaay in hand, perched atop his halibut box. Haida boxes such as this contained important objects of ceremonial significance...

Condition: VERY GOOD
Measurements: 10" x 10"
Pickup category timeslot {A}