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Welcome Figure
Kwakwaka'wakw
Northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia
ca. 1840
wood, paint
height: 67 ¾"
width: 19"
Inventory # CN1663
Sold
acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
PROVENANCE
George Tozier, Tacoma, WA
Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, No. 6/8722
Fred Rowland, New York, NY
Francesco Pellizzi, New York, NY
PUBLISHED
Donald Ellis Gallery catalogue, 1997, pg. 11
RELATED EXAMPLES
University of British Columbia, Museum of Anthropology, Nos. 1778 and 1779 - See: Art of the Northwest Coast Indians, Inverarity, University of California Press, 1950, pls. 250 and 251
University of British Columbia, Museum of Anthropology, No. 1800 - See: Kwakiutl Art, Hawthorn, University of WA Press, 1979, fig. 70
Raised to project power and authority, this imposing Welcome figure is carved in the form of a large standing human holding a copper before its abdomen. The oversized head with deeply carved eye sockets and prominent downturned mouth exhibits remnants of red and black paint. A thin corona frames the composition, bestowing gravity to this impressive carving. The figure likely represents a hereditary chief or his orator, and would have been carved for use during significant social gatherings. Given its considerable size and light weathering, it was likely placed outside the chief’s house. On occasion, the chief's speaker, hidden behind the work, would welcome guests arriving by canoe for important social ceremonies.