Donald Ellis Secures Dundas Collection at Auction
The Maine Antiques Digest reports that Donald Ellis was able to secure the majority of the Dundas collection of Northwest Coast First Nations art at auction
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Mask
Tsimshian
Northern British Columbia
Northern British Columbia
ca. 1820-40
wood, paint, hide
height: 7 ¾"
Inventory # N2978-1
Sold
acquired by the Thomson Collection, now at the Art Gallery of Ontario
PROVENANCE
Collected by Anglican lay minister William Duncan in 1863 at the village of Metlakatla
PUBLISHED
Donald Ellis, ed., Tsimshian Treasures: The Remarkable Journey of the Dundas Collection, Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2007, pgs. 6, 102-105
Northwest Coast masks carved with naturalistic countenance are often referred to as portrait masks due to their resemblance to actual individuals. The exceptional mask pictured here was likely the property of a Tsimshian shaman, and incorporates animal hide as facial hair to represent a particular spirit that assisted him in his work. Both the spirits of deceased clan or lineage elders and high ranking individuals from other social groups frequently appear in shaman’s masks.
The present mask was acquired by the Scottish Reverend Robert J. Dundas from the English lay missionary William Duncan on a trip to Canada in 1863. In 1862, Duncan had established a model Church of England mission at Old Metlakatla, an abandoned settlement near Prince Rupert, B.C. Dundas acquired almost 80 objects from Duncan, including crest helmets, rattles and antler clubs which remained in the Dundas family for several generations.
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