Naxnox mask

ca. 1900

Git'ksan , Kitwancool village, British Columbia

Identified as “Giant” by the collector, we can only imagine how the dancer would have revealed the nature of this powerful being, particularly the meaning behind the enigmatic painting on the surface. The part-human, part-bird face is similar to those on totem poles of the Git’ksan First Nation, a branch of the Tsimshian.

Red cedar and paint

15 3/8 x 12 3/16 x 12 3/16 in. (39.05 x 30.96 x 30.96 cm)

Gift of John H. Hauberg

91.1.49

Provenance: Micheal R. Johnson, Seattle, Washington, until 1972; John H. Hauberg, Seattle, Washington, 1972-1991; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington

Photo: Paul Macapia

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle Art Museum, Washington, Hauberg Collection - Parsons Gallery, August 22, 1985 - March 16, 1986

Published ReferencesThe Spirit Within: Northwest Coast Native Art from the John H. Hauberg Collection, Seattle Art Museum, 1995, pp. 164-165

Morgan, David. Religion and Embodiment in the Study of Material Culture. Religion: Oxford Research Encylopedias, March, 2015.

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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