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1951.6.56

Square wooden comb with the top carved as a bird's face. [CAK 26/05/2009]

On display

1951.6.56

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Collection type
Object
Description
Square wooden comb with the top carved as a bird's face. [CAK 26/05/2009]
Long description
Square wooden comb with the top carved as a bird's face. Carved from a single piece of wood, the reverse of the comb is flat and smooth. The front of the comb is carved into a peak just above its midpoint. The peak forms the bird's beak. Shallow outlines of eyebrows, eyes and beak/mouth are carved on the top third of the comb. The middle third is plainly carved and smooth and slopes downward from the peak. The bottom third of the comb is carved into separate tines of roughly the same length. The tips of the tines have been squared. [CAK 07/07/2009]
Geographical reference
Canada
Northern America > North America > Canada
British Columbia Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) NW Coast
Cultural groups
Haida
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1951
Date collected
By 1951
Acquisition information
Donated: 1951
Materials and processes
Material Wood Plant, Process Carved
Dimensions
Width: max 85 mm, Length: max 121 mm
Object numbers
Accession number: 1951.6.56 Other numbers: Wellcome No. R10473/1936.
Research and responses

The following information comes from Haida delegates who worked with the museum’s collection in September 2009 as part of the project “Haida Material Culture in British Museums: Generating New Forms of Knowledge”:

This comb was viewed alongside items of personal adornment on Friday Sept 11, 2009. Kwiaahwah Jones believed this was carved from yellow cedar. Another delegate wondered if it was carved from maple. Nika Collison thought it could have been made by someone learning to carve, or for sale as a tourist item because the quality is lower. Some delegates were uncertain if this was Haida. A brief discussion of this comb can be seen on Tape 7, time 23:45, which can be found in the Haida Project Related Documents File. [CAK 20/05/2010]

This object was viewed by Haida tribal members Vincent Collison, Lucille Bell, and Kwiiawah Jones on 7 September 2007 in preparation for a planned Haida community visit to PRM in 2009. **They were unsure if it was Haida or not. [L Peers, 24/01/2008]

Search terms: Toilet, Figure, Ornament, Comb, Bird Figure, Toilet Article, Hair Ornament