Images(2)

'Ma'ma'k'wagamhl (mask of the Moon)

Dateca. 1945

Maker Joe Seaweed Kwakwaka'wakw, 'Nak'waxda'xw, Blunden Harbour, 1910-1983

Label TextSon of famed carver Willie Seaweed, Joe Seaweed creates a representation of the full moon. During the tla’sala ceremonial, full- and crescent moon-masked dancers—using whistles for their voices—comically argue over which moon brings forth the largest fish run.

Object number91.1.3

ProvenanceMicheal R. Johnson, Seattle, Washington, until 1973; John H. Hauberg, Seattle, Washington, 1973-1991; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington

Photo CreditPhoto: Paul Macapia

Exhibition HistoryPacific Science Center, Seattle, Washington, Smoky-Top: The Art and Times of Willie Seaweed, September 1983 - February 1984Published ReferencesThe Spirit Within: Northwest Coast Native Art from the John H. Hauberg Collection, Seattle Art Museum, 1995, pg. 236; Holm, Bill, Smoky-Top: The Art and Times of Willie Seaweed, University of Washington Press, 1983, fig. 125. Other Documentation: Shown in photograph of Willie Seaweed with Tom Patch Wamiss and hid wife, Charlie George, Jr., George Scow, and Charles Nowell, Riveredge Foundation (Holm 1983: 31)

Credit LineGift of John H. Hauberg

Dimensions18 7/8 x 7 7/8 x 4 7/8 in. (47.94 x 20 x 12.38 cm)

MediumRed cedar, red cedar bark, mink pelts, paint, plywood