Portrait Mask

Haida, British Columbia, Canada

6.7 inches, wood, natural pigments

Hand carved by one of the Indian tribes that live in British Columbia, Canada, it was purchased in Prince Rupert in the 1960’s by a ship’s crew member. This type of portrait mask could have been carved by the Tsimshian, Haida, Kwakiutl, Nootkan or Tlingit Tribes. However, there is a Haida mask with the same facial painting collected in 1882 and now in the Princeton Museum of Natural History. The Haida are just across a narrow bay from Prince Rupert on the Queen Charlotte islands. Excellent condition, with signs of some use and age.

SOLD