International Resources – Bentwood Box – Liverpool (UK)

Carved and painted rectangular cedar chest with removable overlapping lid, featuring crest art in red, black and blue pigment. The two sides and one end of the chest are a single piece of wood which has been shaped and bent by the kerfing technique. Painted on the long side panels of the chest are designs representing a large head of a creature over a small rectangular body with human hands on either side. This chest may be by the Hieltsuk master artist Du'kwayella (Captain Richard Carpenter, 1841 - 1931). Objects like these were traded or given as gifts at potlatches (ceremonial feasts) - which may explain why Newcombe acquired it in Haida territory.