Henry Hunt (1923-1985) First Nations Bear Carving Mask

View Similar Items

Vintage Ojibwe Beaded Moose Skin Moccasins, 1950s Leather First Nation

Vintage Ojibwe Beaded Moose Skin Moccasins, 1950s Leather First Nation Ojibwa

JERRY HENRY - Iroquois Turtle/False Face Soapstone Carving - Canada - Circa 1970

1950s Native American Bear Snowshoes

1920s Native American Bear Paw Snowshoes

1920s Native American Penobscot Bear Paw Snowshoes

Thomas B. Maracle Indigenous Canadian Mohawk Stone Carving or Sculpture

Northwest Coast Wooden Doll with Thunderbird, Eagle Mask

Paqua First Frogwoman Naha 1890-1955 Hopi Bowl

Raspberry Alabaster Feather Bundled Bear Fetish with Heart Line

19th Century Native American Penobscot Bear Paw Snowshoes

Vintage Cape Dorset Ptarmigan Inuit Stone Carving, Signed, Canada, C.1960's

Want more images or videos?

Request additional images or videos from the seller

1 of 12

Henry Hunt (1923-1985) First Nations Bear Carving Mask

$1,000List Price

About the Item

Authentic First Nations wood carved mask by master carver, Henry Hunt (1923-1985). This hand carved gem depicts a Canadian Grizzly Bear. Pencil signed in cursive on the reverse, Henry Hunt. Carved out of Pacific Northwest pine. Hunt had a rich history replicating and also making one of a kind masks, figures and totems in the Kwakwaka'wakw tradition. This piece dates circa 1970-80. Good overall condition with wear consistent with age. One minor ding near the eye (see photo). Dark patina. No visible splits. Approximately 5" deep x 5.13" wide x 7" high. Galleries West Bio: In 1941, the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria opened Thunderbird Park on a small piece of land adjacent to the museum. Centred around the historic Helmcken House on the same site, it was a small but growing collection of authentic examples of northwest coast art — poles, grave markers, and other ceremonial carvings by the Haida, Songhees, Nuu-cha-nulth, and Kwakwaka’wakw people. By the early 1950s, the carvings had started to decay, and the museum hired a carver to replicate the existing poles, and create new carvings based on original works from sites along the west coast. Kwakwaka’wakw chief Mungo Martin was hired as head carver, and he brought in his stepson, Henry Hunt, to assist him. Based on the northeast coast of Vancouver Island, the Kwakwaka’wakw carvers are known for poles and masks carved with traditional hand tools, faces and figures with theatrical expressions, and bright painting outlined in sharp contrast. Martin learned the art from his own stepfather, Charlie James, and would go on to design and build the spectacularly painted house at Thunderbird Park, known as Wawadit’la. Descended from the Tlingit ethnologist and interpreter George Hunt, Henry had been a fisherman and logger in Fort Rupert before traveling to Victoria to assist his stepfather as a carver. When Martin died in 1962, Henry Hunt succeeded him as chief carver, passing on the skills and techniques to his own sons, Richard, Tony, and Stanley, who would become master carvers and acclaimed artists. For 20 years, Henry oversaw the work at Thunderbird Park. During that time, the Government of British Columbia would commission Henry and Tony to create smaller, authentically carved presentation poles to give to visiting VIPs and dignitaries. Carved from sturdy yellow cedar and usually about 18 inches tall, they were taller and heavier than the standard “tourist” carvings popularizing west coast Aboriginal art. Over the years they were associated with the museum, the Hunts carved dozens of these presentation pieces, about 80 per cent of them for visiting heads of state and other VIPs. They were given to Lester Pearson, Lyndon Johnson, Queen Elizabeth II, and many others. Because these carvings were given as state gifts, it’s rare that one will reappear on the market. Ian Sigvaldason of Pegasus Gallery on Salt Spring Island was contacted a few months ago by a family in Germany interested in selling this piece, which had been presented in 1967 (most likely to West German Vice Chancellor Willy Brandt). Sigvaldason had represented works by Henry Hunt, mostly masks, so knew the artist’s work well. “The masks don’t come up for sale very often,” he says “and this presentation pole was a great coup to get back to Canada.” This line of carvers, from Charlie James through Mungo Martin, to Henry Hunt and his sons, and the family of artists who surrounded them, had a monumental impact on the preservation of techniques, motifs, and stories that have kept the Kwakwaka’wakw culture present throughout their traditional territory, and their work, historical and contemporary, has promoted that culture around the world. -Jill Sawyer

Dimensions:
Height: 7 in (17.78 cm)Width: 5.13 in (13.04 cm)Depth: 5 in (12.7 cm)
Style:
Native American (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Pine,Hand-Carved
Place of Origin:
Canada
Period:
1970-1979
Date of Manufacture:
Circa 1970-80
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. Good overall condition with wear consistent with age. One minor ding near the eye (see photo). Dark patina. No visible splits.
Seller Location:
Garnerville, NY
Reference Number:
Seller: AR11.13.23.11stDibs: LU1236237063252

More From This Seller

View All

Early Still Life Trompe L'oeil Painting

Located in Garnerville, NY

Trompe l'oeil oil on board painting. Trick of the eye still life of a hand towel, a folding ruler, envelope and an almanac dated 1831. Most likely, the mundane everyday items used in...

Category

Antique Mid-19th Century American American Classical Paintings

Materials

Wood, Paint

Early Still Life Trompe L'oeil Painting

$4,160 Sale Price

20% Off

Mid-Century Modern Skeletal Wire Rod Abstract Sculpture

Located in Garnerville, NY

An amazing spider's web of a rollercoaster of design and line. This sculpture is just as delicate and light filled like a spider's web. A work that reaches, careens, and zigzags Constantly changing maze of line and perspective. Comprised of welded metal rods and airbrushed in different colors. Circa 1960. Good overall condition with all welds intact. Some minor rust and pitting, but that just adds to the piece's outsider art charm. Clipped corners on the piece's base. Reminiscent of a small skeletal sculpture by the artist, Lee Bontecou...

Category

Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Outsider and Self Taught Art

Materials

Metal, Steel

Mid-Century Modern Skeletal Wire Rod Abstract Sculpture

$2,300 Sale Price

20% Off

J. Alden Weir Hand Made Studio Sign Branchville Connecticut

Located in Garnerville, NY

Recently purchased from a multi-generational Ridgefield, CT estate of the former President of Ridgefield Savings Bank. Our esteemed and avid collector found time in his off hours in Post World War II Connecticut to scour the countryside for just about anything that struck his fancy. He had an enormous passion for model trains, porcelain figurines and pattern Depression Era glass...

Category

Antique Late 19th Century American Late Victorian Signs

Materials

Iron

J. Alden Weir Hand Made Studio Sign Branchville Connecticut

$2,240 Sale Price

20% Off

Finger Lakes Telephone Corporation Building Facade Painting, Marcellus New York

Located in Garnerville, NY

Very nice painting with a folk art feel by the artist, Horace M. Stone, Jr. (1919-1978). The piece was executed in 1956. Stone has depicted the brick facade of the main offices of th...

Category

Vintage 1950s American Folk Art Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Pine, Paint

Finger Lakes Telephone Corporation Building Facade Painting, Marcellus New York

$780 Sale Price

20% Off

Gilded Abstract Brutalist Table Lamps, A Pair

By Luciano Frigerio, Laurel Lamp Company, Marcello Fantoni, Richard Barr

Located in Garnerville, NY

An excellent pair of gilded and black abstract brutalist table lamps. Circa 1960. These period lamps have a tremendous presence anywhere whether in the home or office. Constructed fr...

Category

Vintage 1960s American Brutalist Table Lamps

Materials

Metal

Gilded Abstract Brutalist Table Lamps, A Pair

$1,568 Sale Price / set

51% Off

Early Alvar Aalto for Artek Birch and Black Laminate Stool 60

By Artek, Alvar Aalto

Located in Garnerville, NY

A good and early example by Alvar Aalto for Artek, Sweden bentwood birch and black laminate Stool 60. Circa 1950. Fully signed on the bottom with ink stamp, Aalto Design, Artek, Made...

Category

Vintage 1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern End Tables

Materials

Laminate, Birch, Bentwood

Early Alvar Aalto for Artek Birch and Black Laminate Stool 60

$920 Sale Price

20% Off

20th Century Canadian Native American Native American Objects

Materials

Fur, Leather, Beads

Vintage Ojibwe Beaded Moose Skin Moccasins, 1950s Leather First Nation

$142

Vintage Ojibwe Beaded Moose Skin Moccasins, 1950s Leather First Nation Ojibwa

Located in Bristol, GB

Category

20th Century Canadian Native American Native American Objects

Materials

Fur, Leather, Beads

Vintage Ojibwe Beaded Moose Skin Moccasins, 1950s Leather First Nation Ojibwa

$142

JERRY HENRY - Iroquois Turtle/False Face Soapstone Carving - Canada - Circa 1970

Located in Chatham, ON

JERRY HENRY - Vintage Six Nations Iroquois soapstone carving - featuring a ceremonial hand carved false face to the back of a snapping turtle - signed on the base - Canada - circa 19...

Category

Late 20th Century Canadian Folk Art Native American Objects

Materials

Soapstone

JERRY HENRY - Iroquois Turtle/False Face Soapstone Carving - Canada - Circa 1970

$380

1950s Native American Bear Snowshoes

Located in Coeur d'Alene, ID

Native American fisher hand woven snowshoes with colored tassels and black bear silhouettes. PERIOD: Mid 20th Century ORIGIN: Maine, United States SIZE: 51"L x 13"W Family Owned & ...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Native American Native American Objects

Materials

Wood

1950s Native American Bear Snowshoes

$1,200 / set

1920s Native American Bear Paw Snowshoes

Located in Coeur d'Alene, ID

Native American bear paw snowshoes with tassels and black bear silhouettes. Early 20th Century excellent sample complete with yellow and fluffs on...

Category

Early 20th Century American Native American Native American Objects

Materials

Wood

1920s Native American Bear Paw Snowshoes

$1,500 / set

1920s Native American Penobscot Bear Paw Snowshoes

Located in Coeur d'Alene, ID

Pair of miniature Penobscot snowshoes, decorated with red and green wool tufts. Sinew sewn. 11” x 7”, with brain-tanned thongs. Made for a child. Exceptional sinew work. Rare and col...

Category