Gwa'sala Kwakwaka'wakw. <em>Wooden Figure</em>, late 19th century. Wood, hair, red pigment, 53 1/2 x 14 1/2 x 6 in. (135.9 x 36.8 x 15.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, X1118.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, X1118.1_bw.jpg)

Gwa'sala Kwakwaka'wakw. Wooden Figure, late 19th century. Wood, hair, red pigment, 53 1/2 x 14 1/2 x 6 in. (135.9 x 36.8 x 15.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, X1118.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, X1118.1_bw.jpg)

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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.

Wooden Figure

Arts of the Americas

CULTURE Gwa'sala Kwakwaka'wakw

MEDIUM Wood, hair, red pigment

Place Made: British Columbia, Canada

DATES late 19th century

DIMENSIONS 53 1/2 x 14 1/2 x 6 in. (135.9 x 36.8 x 15.2 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Arts of the Americas

ACCESSION NUMBER X1118.1

CREDIT LINE Brooklyn Museum Collection

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Carved, standing male figure with facial features clearly marked. Roll of hair or headdress on top of head. This type of wooden sculpture could be given at a potlatch. Old photographs show them wearing blankets over their torsos.

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Gwa'sala Kwakwaka'wakw. Wooden Figure, late 19th century. Wood, hair, red pigment, 53 1/2 x 14 1/2 x 6 in. (135.9 x 36.8 x 15.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, X1118.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, X1118.1_bw.jpg)

IMAGE overall, X1118.1_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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What is a potlatch ceremony?

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Wooden Figure

Arts of the Americas

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