Antique Northwest Coast Native Silver Potlatch Bracelet Tlingit Haida 1880 - 1900
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:41268 |
An absolutely amazing original Native Northwest Coast antique potlatch gift bracelet circa the late 19th century. This lovely piece is composed silver of unknown quality, likely coin silver (which is generally .900 as opposed to Sterling's .925). It has been hand-engraved with the image of a Euro-American style shield flanked by flourishes against a background of cross-hatching. The bracelet is concave on the inside and latches by means of a hook and eye at the back. It is unsigned but... has two lightly scratched Xs on the interior of the bracelet.
Bracelets like this were given away during potlatch celebrations by Native peoples like the Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Kwak'wakawakw and others as a traditional means of honoring guests who had come to witness the giver of the potlatch receive a new name, crest, or responsibility. Most of those bracelets were simple affairs made out of twisted copper wire, but a few were more elegant objects created out of silver or gold for people of higher rank like this piece. Through the work of scholars in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, many of the names of the artists who engraved these bracelets have been recovered. I do think this piece is very consistent with the work of late 19th century Haida artists Duncan Ginaawan and Zacharias Nicholas.
My gut instinct is that this piece is Haida or Tlingit in origin based upon frequency of this shield and flourish motif occurring on potlatch bracelets from Alaska and extreme northern British Columbia. It has the typical "folding" of the metal that can be seen on the inside of the bracelet that occurs when you take a piece of metal and hammer it out into a thinner desired shape (which was the the technique used at the time on the Northwest Coast).
According to information at the Burke Museum's Ethnology Collection website regarding Burke object 2005-102/3 - a VERY similar bracelet to this piece, "Even though there had been an earlier tradition on the northern coast of engraving copper and iron with totemic figures, many of the earliest examples of decorated silverwork show intrusive designs derived directly from eighteenth and early nineteenth century European engraving conventions. Whether these patterns of stylized scrolls and leaflike sprays were merely copied from examples seen by native engravers or actually taught by European tradesmen is not clear. The technical details of European, Euro-American, or native Northwest Coast foliate scroll engraving are so similar it seems possible, if not plausible that these patterns were learned from European tradesmen.
This expertly fashioned silver bracelet is a fine example of early floral engraving. Beveling, lining, and shading exactly reproduce the details of scroll engraving on early nineteenth century silver and related decoration, such as that on firearms. The 'rococo scroll' engraving on the brass and silver inlays of early eastern American rifles represents another, very similar 'folk' adaptation of formal European engraving style. (Holm, Box of Daylight, 1983)."
Here are some articles on the subject of potlatch bracelets, as well as some strikingly similar bracelets in museum collections (particularly the American Museum of Natural History, the Burke Museum, the UBC MOA) and galleries in the United States and Canada:
https://www.juneauempire.com/life/behind-the-bracelets-documenting-the-lives-of-native-jewelers/
https://www.academia.edu/35175989/Northwest_Coast_Silver_Bracelets_and_the_Use_of_Euro-American_Designs
https://www.academia.edu/35175990/Reflected_Images_The_Use_of_Euro-American_Designs_on_Northwest_Coast_Silver_Bracelets
https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/totems-to-turquoise/society/ritual
http://www.milkywayjewels.com/nwi_jewels.html
https://live.thomastonauction.com/lots/view/1-OIQ7U/native-american-silver-bracelet
https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/23384/lot/221/
https://www.bgc.bard.edu/objects-exchange-bracelet
http://explore-art.pem.org/object/native-american-art/E23604
https://douglasreynoldsgallery.com/artist/duncan-ginaawaan/
https://curtrightandson.com/products/haida-tlingit-engraved-coin-silver-cuff-ca-1890
https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1363599&partId=1&searchText=tlingit+bracelet&page=1
/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=515971&partId=1&searchText=bracelet&page=7&view=list&sortBy=objectTitleSort
http://www.burkemuseum.org/research-and-collections/culture/collections/database/display.php?ID=17762
http://www.burkemuseum.org/research-and-collections/culture/collections/database/display.php?ID=75394
http://www.burkemuseum.org/research-and-collections/culture/collections/database/display.php?ID=88353
http://www.burkemuseum.org/research-and-collections/culture/collections/database/display.php?ID=165823
http://www.burkemuseum.org/research-and-collections/culture/collections/database/display.php?ID=165824
http://collection-online.moa.ubc.ca/search/item?keywords=northwest+bracelet&yearstart=&yearend=&row=2
http://collection-online.moa.ubc.ca/search/item?keywords=northwest+bracelet&yearstart=&yearend=&row=1
http://collection-online.moa.ubc.ca/search/item?keywords=northwest+bracelet&yearstart=&yearend=&row=127
http://collection-online.moa.ubc.ca/search/item?keywords=haida+bracelet&yearstart=&yearend=&row=0
https://anthro.amnh.org/anthropology/databases/common/image_dup.cfm?catno=16%2E1%2F%20%20951
The bracelet measures 7.5" in length and about 1.15" in width. It is in excellent shape, the metal still supple and the clasp strong, and is absolutely wearable should you want to do so. I have left the original patina on the piece intact but it would clean up beautifully. This is an extremely rare and unique object with a lot of great history to it that's being offered at a very low price.
If you have any questions about the item listed here please do not hesitate to ask! Thank you for your bid.
Bracelets like this were given away during potlatch celebrations by Native peoples like the Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Kwak'wakawakw and others as a traditional means of honoring guests who had come to witness the giver of the potlatch receive a new name, crest, or responsibility. Most of those bracelets were simple affairs made out of twisted copper wire, but a few were more elegant objects created out of silver or gold for people of higher rank like this piece. Through the work of scholars in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, many of the names of the artists who engraved these bracelets have been recovered. I do think this piece is very consistent with the work of late 19th century Haida artists Duncan Ginaawan and Zacharias Nicholas.
My gut instinct is that this piece is Haida or Tlingit in origin based upon frequency of this shield and flourish motif occurring on potlatch bracelets from Alaska and extreme northern British Columbia. It has the typical "folding" of the metal that can be seen on the inside of the bracelet that occurs when you take a piece of metal and hammer it out into a thinner desired shape (which was the the technique used at the time on the Northwest Coast).
According to information at the Burke Museum's Ethnology Collection website regarding Burke object 2005-102/3 - a VERY similar bracelet to this piece, "Even though there had been an earlier tradition on the northern coast of engraving copper and iron with totemic figures, many of the earliest examples of decorated silverwork show intrusive designs derived directly from eighteenth and early nineteenth century European engraving conventions. Whether these patterns of stylized scrolls and leaflike sprays were merely copied from examples seen by native engravers or actually taught by European tradesmen is not clear. The technical details of European, Euro-American, or native Northwest Coast foliate scroll engraving are so similar it seems possible, if not plausible that these patterns were learned from European tradesmen.
This expertly fashioned silver bracelet is a fine example of early floral engraving. Beveling, lining, and shading exactly reproduce the details of scroll engraving on early nineteenth century silver and related decoration, such as that on firearms. The 'rococo scroll' engraving on the brass and silver inlays of early eastern American rifles represents another, very similar 'folk' adaptation of formal European engraving style. (Holm, Box of Daylight, 1983)."
Here are some articles on the subject of potlatch bracelets, as well as some strikingly similar bracelets in museum collections (particularly the American Museum of Natural History, the Burke Museum, the UBC MOA) and galleries in the United States and Canada:
https://www.juneauempire.com/life/behind-the-bracelets-documenting-the-lives-of-native-jewelers/
https://www.academia.edu/35175989/Northwest_Coast_Silver_Bracelets_and_the_Use_of_Euro-American_Designs
https://www.academia.edu/35175990/Reflected_Images_The_Use_of_Euro-American_Designs_on_Northwest_Coast_Silver_Bracelets
https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/totems-to-turquoise/society/ritual
http://www.milkywayjewels.com/nwi_jewels.html
https://live.thomastonauction.com/lots/view/1-OIQ7U/native-american-silver-bracelet
https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/23384/lot/221/
https://www.bgc.bard.edu/objects-exchange-bracelet
http://explore-art.pem.org/object/native-american-art/E23604
https://douglasreynoldsgallery.com/artist/duncan-ginaawaan/
https://curtrightandson.com/products/haida-tlingit-engraved-coin-silver-cuff-ca-1890
https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1363599&partId=1&searchText=tlingit+bracelet&page=1
/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=515971&partId=1&searchText=bracelet&page=7&view=list&sortBy=objectTitleSort
http://www.burkemuseum.org/research-and-collections/culture/collections/database/display.php?ID=17762
http://www.burkemuseum.org/research-and-collections/culture/collections/database/display.php?ID=75394
http://www.burkemuseum.org/research-and-collections/culture/collections/database/display.php?ID=88353
http://www.burkemuseum.org/research-and-collections/culture/collections/database/display.php?ID=165823
http://www.burkemuseum.org/research-and-collections/culture/collections/database/display.php?ID=165824
http://collection-online.moa.ubc.ca/search/item?keywords=northwest+bracelet&yearstart=&yearend=&row=2
http://collection-online.moa.ubc.ca/search/item?keywords=northwest+bracelet&yearstart=&yearend=&row=1
http://collection-online.moa.ubc.ca/search/item?keywords=northwest+bracelet&yearstart=&yearend=&row=127
http://collection-online.moa.ubc.ca/search/item?keywords=haida+bracelet&yearstart=&yearend=&row=0
https://anthro.amnh.org/anthropology/databases/common/image_dup.cfm?catno=16%2E1%2F%20%20951
The bracelet measures 7.5" in length and about 1.15" in width. It is in excellent shape, the metal still supple and the clasp strong, and is absolutely wearable should you want to do so. I have left the original patina on the piece intact but it would clean up beautifully. This is an extremely rare and unique object with a lot of great history to it that's being offered at a very low price.
If you have any questions about the item listed here please do not hesitate to ask! Thank you for your bid.
