Totem Pole for the "House which is a Trail"
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Object Label
This pole stood in front of the so-called "House on Which Is a Trail" in the Haida village of Kayang. The crest bird on top depicts the "Raven Stealing the Sun," symbolizing how, in Haida mythology, the raven brought light and enlightenment to humankind. The figure at the bottom holding dorsal fins may represent a character from a Haida legend. According to the story, a person disappears into the blowhole of a mythological bear called a sea grizzly and then passes through a whirlpool to the bottom of the ocean.
Caption
Haida. Totem Pole for the "House which is a Trail", 19th century. Cedar wood, (a) section: 270 x 39 1/2 x 51 in., 1000 lb. (685.8 x 100.3 x 129.5 cm, 453.6kg) (b) section: 163 × 44 × 29 1/2 in. (414 × 111.8 × 74.9 cm) storage (Crate for (a) section with detached beak made 2009 Surroundart): 51 x 49 x 278 in. (129.5 x 124.5 x 706.1 cm) Storage of 'b' the lower portion. NOT IN CRATE since before 2000: 30 × 42 × 166 in. (76. Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1911, Purchased with funds given by Robert B. Woodward, 11.704a-b. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Totem Pole for the "House which is a Trail"
Date
19th century
Geography
Place made: Q'aayang (Kayang) Village, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, Canada
Medium
Cedar wood
Classification
Dimensions
(a) section: 270 x 39 1/2 x 51 in., 1000 lb. (685.8 x 100.3 x 129.5 cm, 453.6kg) (b) section: 163 × 44 × 29 1/2 in. (414 × 111.8 × 74.9 cm) storage (Crate for (a) section with detached beak made 2009 Surroundart): 51 x 49 x 278 in. (129.5 x 124.5 x 706.1 cm) Storage of 'b' the lower portion. NOT IN CRATE since before 2000: 30 × 42 × 166 in. (76.
Credit Line
Museum Expedition 1911, Purchased with funds given by Robert B. Woodward
Accession Number
11.704a-b
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