Model canoe with figures

ca. 1800

Makah or First Nations, Nuu-chah-nulth, Hesquiat

The stalwart ocean-going canoe was constructed from a hollowed-out red cedar log which was then steamed by pouring in water and fire-heated rocks, causing the sides to be flared, while still maintaining strength. Large canoes were used for transportation, sea mammal hunting and ceremonial occasions. The man and woman in the center of the vessel have been identified as a wedding couple.

Alder, paint, nails

7 1/4 x 7 1/4 x 38 1/2 in. (18.42 x 18.42 x 97.8 cm)

Margaret E. Fuller Purchase Fund and the General Acquisition Fund in honor of Jay and Susan Gates

93.80

Photo: Paul Macapia

Now on view at the Seattle Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Native Visions: Northwest Coast Art, 18th Century to the Present, October 1, 1998 - January 31, 1999

Published ReferencesBrown, Steven C., Native Visions: Evolution in Northwest Coast Art from the Eighteenth Through the Twentieth Century, Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1998, pg. 64.

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

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