Pacific Northwest Tlingit Whale House Rain Wall from Donald Judd Estate, c. 1968
Located in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Pacific Northwest Tlingit whale house rain wall from Donald Judd Estate c. 1968
A monumental polychrome and carved cedar eleven panel Tlingit Whale House Rain Wall (Raven clan, Chilkat tribe) produced by Northwest Coast Tlingit artist Chief Don Lelooska Smith in the traditional Kwakiutl-style for modern artist Donald Judd. The entire screen is a masterful composition and one by which to measure other Northwest Coast screens.
Filling the top and side borders are a series of thirteen figures, nine of them with limbs placed in a traditional stance with elbows close to the knees (typical in Northwest Coast tribal paintings.) The figures represent the rain drops from which the screen takes its name. The central figure represents a Raven whose body cavity contains the oval form which encompasses the screen opening. The Raven embodies the Northwest tribal myths as the creator of the world.
A near-exact replica of the world famous Raven clan 'Whale House' Rain Wall, Klukwan, Alaska c. 1800's, this piece along with a pair of totems and a feast bowl...
Category
1960s Canadian Native American Vintage Cedar Wall-mounted Sculptures