Lot 665
RUFUS MOODY, C.M., QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLAND/HAIDA GUAII
Lot 665 Details
RUFUS MOODY, C.M., QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLAND/HAIDA GUAII
TOTEM DECORATED WITH BEAVER, POTLATCH RINGS, RAVEN AND EAGLE
argillite
signed and inscribed “Skidegate Mission”
12.75 ins x 3 ins x 3.5 ins; 32.4 cms x 7.6 cms x 8.9 cms
Estimate $2,000-$3,000
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Note:
The Haida were the first of the coastal tribes to produce art for sale. This came in the form of reproducing customary objects as well as items of no functional use such as carvings in argillite.
One of three generations of Haida artists, Rufus Moody began carving in the 1940’s in the style of his grandfather Thomas, and father Arthur. Working primarily in argillite from Skidegate, which he mined himself, Moody created a variety of intricate works, from relief carved totem poles to model longhouses. In the 1950s he began to carve on a larger scale. His work is admired internationally and appears in museums, private and corporate collections. The Haida have been carving argillite for trade since the 1820s, mostly as panel pipes, model totem poles, later boxes, figures and other curios.