Totem Post. Wood Carving.
date: label: Collection Date
content: 1875
name: label: Collector
content: James G. Swan
label: Donor Name
content: Accession Number Unknown
notes: label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "AFTER AN EXTENSIVE SURVEY OF THE TOTEM POLES IN THE USNM COLLECTIONS, IT SEEMS LIKELY THAT THIS SPECIMEN IS THE OUTSIDE CORNER POST STORED IN THE E-WING BASEMENT. LITTLE RELIABILITY CAN BE PLACED ON THE MEASUREMENTS FOUND IN THE CATALOG BOOK. IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE THAT PART OF THE SPECIMEN WAS REMOVED AT THE BASE SINCE THERE IS DETERIORATION AT THAT POINT. IT IS PROBABLE THAT THIS SPECIMEN WAS COLLECTED FOR THE PHILADELPHIA EXPOSITION OF 1876, ALTHOUGH THIS CANNOT BE VERIFIED TO DATE. THE ORIGINAL (1882) ATTRIBUTION OF HAIDA HAS NOT BEEN CONTESTED TO DATE. 6/6/68 GP." FROM CARD: "54297-54300. # 54299 - H. 14" ELEVATOR LOBBY. FLOOR 1. IDENTIFICATION OF 54299 BY VIOLA GARFIELD." Catalogued originally in Anthropology catalogue ledger book as Haida, Queen Charlotte Islands, B.C..
label: Notes
content: Note from Ken Lund (via Reciprocal Research Network): Interior post from House 16, Strong House, in Tanu, Haida Gwaii. There is a photo from Charles F. Newcombe in 1903 showing this housepost or its mate inside a house in Tanu (BCPM E281). Notes from the Bill Reid Centre at SFU on this pole: "Inside the house were two unusual carved posts, each representing a supernatural snag with potlatch cylinders, which belonged to Naspala's wife. These were placed at the back of the house under the central pair of rafters. Newcombe purchased both and sent one to the Field Museum of Natural History and the other to the Smithsonian Institution." See "Monumental Art of Tanu", The Bill Reid Centre, Simon Fraser University https://www.sfu.ca/brc/virtual_village/haida/tanu/monumental-art-of-k-uuna.html . It is very likely that this object formed part of the Smithsonian exhibit at the 1904 St. Louis World Fair (Louisiana Purchase Exposition). 2 large poles from Tanu now at the Smithsonian, were collected by Charles Newcombe from House 7 and House 10 for the 1904 World Fair. He also collected 2 interior houseposts from House 16. Dr. George A. Dorsey of the Smithsonian reportedly purchased 4 poles at this time, with 2 of them large ones for a price of $1000.
label: Notes
content: Assuming Ken Lund information is correct, this house post then may actually be part of Accession No. 42671: maybe Catalogue No. E231040 (or E231041), rather than E54299?
label: Record Last Modified
content: 30 Jul 2020
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Laskeek (Tanu) (not certain), Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii) / Louise Island (not certain), British Columbia, Canada, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Haida (?)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 000000
label: USNM Number
content: E54299-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Crest Column
physicalDescription: label: Height - Object
content: 69 cm
label: Depth - Object
content: 69 cm
label: Width - Object
content: 4.1 m
label: Height - Object
content: 36 cm