Description:

Charles Edenshaw (1839-1920), Haida

A PAIR OF HAIDA SILVER SPOONS CARVED WITH A RAVEN DESIGN, 1910



Estimate: $5,000—7,000 CAD

Important:
This lot is located in Vancouver. Local pick up by special arrangement; shipment from Vancouver only.

    Provenance:
  • Private Collection, British Columbia
  • Dimensions:
  • each 4.75 x 1 in — 12.1 x 1 cm; weight ; 0.4 oz. — 11.2 grams; 0.3 oz. — 10.6 grams
  • Artist Name:
  • Charles Edenshaw (1839-1920)
  • Literature:
  • Identical spoons are illustrated in Daina Augaitis and Robin K. Wright ed. Charles Edenshaw, p.132, fig. 143, Vancouver Art Gallery and Black Dog Publishing 2013.
  • Medium:
  • coin silver
  • Notes:
  • Unquestionably, one of the most celebrated Haida master artists of the 19th century, Da.a xiigang (Charles Edenshaw) is considered by many to have also been one of the most exceptional. Edenshaw's creations drew great admiration both in and outside of Haida communities during his lifetime, and he was perhaps one of the first Haida artists to be widely known by name among outsiders. Highly inventive in his designs, and exuberant in his embrace of new materials, Edenshaw's narrative and aesthetic innovations have become Haida canon.

    The present pair of silver spoons exhibit a delicate formline pattern on their interiors and each terminate at the end of their handles in the head of a bird, possibly an eagle. (1) In these spoons Edenshaw has elegantly translated an old Haida form into a new material; lightening, and paring down his subject in the process. Some of the finest old Haida spoons show their maker's intent to thin out and reduce their forms. Their maker's desire for delicate proportions was limited by the material. Often made from maple, alder wood, or horn carved and pressed into shape, if made too thin, the materials would not be strong enough to endure handling and use. Silver allowed for thinness. A relative latecomer to the Northwest Coast, having only arrived in quantity in the mid-19th century, the possibilities of the new material were apparently not lost on Edenshaw. The artist, as here, readily adapted it to meet the requirements both of Haida and of outsiders.

    The present pair of spoons are nearly identical to each other in form, and were likely intended as a pair. Although now uncommon, Edenshaw is known to have made at least a small number of sets of closely related spoons. One such grouping of six spoons is documented in the Robin K. Wright and Daina Augaitis 2013 retrospective of the artist's work. (2)

    1. Robin K. Wright and Daina Augaitis, eds., Charles Edenshaw, (Vancouver: Vancouver Art Gallery and Black Dog Publishing, 2013), 133
    2. Robin K. Wright and Daina Augaitis, eds, Charles Edenshaw, pl. 143, 151, 227.

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June 27, 2024 11:00 AM PDT
Vancouver, BC, CA

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
CA$0 CA$199 CA$10
CA$200 CA$499 CA$20
CA$500 CA$999 CA$50
CA$1,000 CA$1,999 CA$100
CA$2,000 CA$4,999 CA$200
CA$5,000 CA$9,999 CA$500
CA$10,000 CA$19,999 CA$1,000
CA$20,000 CA$49,999 CA$2,000
CA$50,000 CA$99,999 CA$5,000
CA$100,000 CA$299,999 CA$10,000
CA$300,000 CA$999,999 CA$25,000
CA$1,000,000 CA$1,999,999 CA$50,000
CA$2,000,000 CA$2,999,999 CA$100,000
CA$3,000,000 CA$4,999,999 CA$200,000
CA$5,000,000 + CA$300,000