Carved wooden figure

Museum number:
2-4800
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21020004800
Alternate number:
x-1196 (original number)
Accession number:
Acc.167
Description:
Wooden carving representing a man inside a fish (dog salmon); yellow cedar; painted red, blue and black. Identification of wood type and fish by Charles Brown, June 1964).
Donor:
Alaska Commercial Company, Benjamin Bristol, and Older University Collections
Collection place:
Northwest Coast, United States
Verbatim coll. place:
; Northwest Coast
Culture or time period:
Tlingit
Collector:
W. G. Morris
Collection date:
unknown
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Carvings (visual works)
Function:
5.7 Objects made for sale, souvenirs, models, and reproductions
Production date:
Circa 1890
Accession date:
1904
Context of use:
A reference to a myth where a fish saved a man by swallowing him and carrying him to shore à la Jonah and the Whale. There are three Haida myths with parallels to Jonah and the Whale. Notably has the “Tlingit” blue. Haida artists were highly praised and seen as being part of a high class of people. The famous Haida potlatch was outlawed by the Canadian government around the time art for sale was being made. Consequently, ceremonial art that was used in potlatches fell out of fashion. Depicts the myth where a man envelopes himself in a salmon’s body in order to kill other sea animals to feed his people.
Department:
Native US and Canada (except California)
Dimensions:
height 45 centimeters
Comment:
cf. Barbeau, Marius. Haida Myths: Illustrated in argillite carvings. No. 32. Ottawa: Department of Resources and Development, National Parks Branch, National Museum of Canada, 1953. Owner of this carving would have been a descendant of the dog salmon moiety. (fide Charles Brown). Featured in USPS stamp printing "37c Art of the American Indian".
Loans:
S1945-1946 #4: Winfield Scott Wellington (March 11, 1946–October 28, 1955), S1963-1964 #9: UC San Francisco Medical Center (September 3, 1963–October 11, 1963), S1965-1966 #16: California State University, East Bay/Clarence E. Smith (September 17, 1965–November 23, 1965), S1979-1980 #48: University of California, Davis (April 1, 1980–June 9, 1980), S1987-1988 #8: Monterey Museum of Art (August 21, 1987–November 25, 1987), and S1989-1990 #27: John G. Shedd Aquarium (July 15, 1990–January 24, 1992)
Images:
Hearst Museum object 1 of 3 titled Carved wooden figure, accession number 2-4800, described as Wooden carving representing a man inside a fish (dog salmon); yellow cedar; painted red, blue and black. Identification of wood type and fish by Charles Brown, June 1964).Hearst Museum object 2 of 3 titled Carved wooden figure, accession number 2-4800, described as Wooden carving representing a man inside a fish (dog salmon); yellow cedar; painted red, blue and black. Identification of wood type and fish by Charles Brown, June 1964).Hearst Museum object 3 of 3 titled Carved wooden figure, accession number 2-4800, described as Wooden carving representing a man inside a fish (dog salmon); yellow cedar; painted red, blue and black. Identification of wood type and fish by Charles Brown, June 1964).
Legacy documentation:
Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Carved wooden figure, accession number 2-4800, described as Wooden carving representing a man inside a fish (dog salmon); yellow cedar; painted red, blue and black. Identification of wood type and fish by Charles Brown, June 1964).Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Carved wooden figure, accession number 2-4800, described as Wooden carving representing a man inside a fish (dog salmon); yellow cedar; painted red, blue and black. Identification of wood type and fish by Charles Brown, June 1964).Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Carved wooden figure, accession number 2-4800, described as Wooden carving representing a man inside a fish (dog salmon); yellow cedar; painted red, blue and black. Identification of wood type and fish by Charles Brown, June 1964).

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