Potlatch Figure
Object Label
In the early 1900s this Northwest Coast potlatch figure would have been called "primitive" art, as if it were a simpler version of European-derived art. However, the Native American artist who carved this figure was following the formal artistic traditions of Kwakwaka\'wakw society. Potlatch figures were place outside a chief\'s large house during a potlatch to emphasize his power. At a potlatch, a celebration held for occasions such as births, deaths, marriages, and treaty signings, the chief gave away much of his valuable belongings to the attendees, affirming his wealth and power and obligating the recipients to reciprocate at some future time.
Caption
Gwa'sala Kwakwaka'wakw. Potlatch Figure, 19th century. Wood, beads, pigment, 43 x 14 3/8 x 8 in. (109.2 x 36.5 x 20.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, X1118.3. Creative Commons-BY
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Potlatch Figure
Date
19th century
Geography
Place made: Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
Medium
Wood, beads, pigment
Classification
Dimensions
43 x 14 3/8 x 8 in. (109.2 x 36.5 x 20.3 cm)
Credit Line
Brooklyn Museum Collection
Accession Number
X1118.3
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
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Frequent Art Questions
What is a potlatch ceremony?
Potlatches were elaborate feasts, usually held in the winter that included ceremonies.They could range from minor events for children at various times in their life cycle, to more significant festivals celebrating the assumption of dance privileges to great, elaborate events including many activities: the assumption of chiefly name and position, the exchange of coppers (objects that looks like a shield made from copper with symbolic designs on it and is of great value and prestige), marriages, the erection of totem poles, and the buildings of houses. On each of these occasions, guests received payment from the host for their service as witnesses; their acceptance of these payments signified their validation of their host's claims of status, so they were also a way to re-distribute wealth within communities. Payments included button blankets (trade blankets with trade buttons sewn on in clan designs), and towering stacks of Hudson Bay trade blankets. Button Blankets were regalia that was generally worn by women. Other forms of payments included feast dishes carved from wood and horn, and coppers (pieces of valuable metal also sometimes carved), dance regalia, food, and elaborately carved rattles.
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