Skip to Content
n1097-first-nations-tlingit-wolf-forehead-mask.jpg
Views
Carved and painted headdress frontlet in the form of a wolf with shell teeth - Donald Ellis Gallery

Forehead Mask

Tlingit
Southeast Alaska

ca. 1840-60

wood, operculum shell, paint

length: 9"

Inventory # CN4313-112

Please contact the gallery for more information.


PROVENANCE

Oregon Historical Society, deaccessioned in the 1950's
Robert Cambell, Portland, OR

EXHIBITED

Canada House, Trafalgar Square,London, England, 1998, on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee.

EXHIBITED 

Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 2007-2008

Superbly carved in the image of a wolf, the image is readily identifiable by the elongated snout and high forehead. The widely opened eyes, pricked ears and bared canine teeth made of operculum greatly animate the mask, capturing the intelligent and curious nature of the carnivore with remarkable artistic sensibility.