ROBERT DAVIDSON (GUUD SANS GLANS), C.M., O.B.C., (1946-) HAIDA, MASSET / WHITE ROCK
Hawk Moon Pendant, 2000
the pendant: 22 kt cast gold abalone shell, and mastodon tusk, 2.5 x 2 x 1 in (6.3 x 5.1 x 2.5 cm)
/ the chain: 22 kt gold;
total weight: 68 g;
signed with artist’s stylized initials, numbered, and dated, “ЯD 1/2 00”.

Provenance
Douglas Reynolds Gallery, Vancouver, BC;
Acquired from the above by Mr. Morton and Mrs. Estelle Sosland, Kansas City, MO, 2004;
Estate of the above.

A triumph of craftsmanship and creativity, Hawk Moon Pendant was created using the casting technique. A method of jewellery making that involves pouring molten metal into a mold, it is the generally preferred process used when creating works that incorporate additional materials. Here, Davidson enriches his design with inlaid elements that contrast pleasantly with the yellow gold. Abstract contours mark the eyebrows, which arch over two striking inlaid abalone eyes. Below the elegant, recurved beak of the hawk is a row of teeth fashioned from mastodon tusk. The halo surrounding the hawk’s face is beautifully embellished with precisely cut facets of abalone, as is the bail.

This sumptuous Hawk Moon Pendant was developed from a boxwood and abalone carved pendant that Davidson had created for his wife, Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson (Gid7ahl-Gudsllaay Lalaxaaygans) in 1999. The artist himself explained, “I carved this pendant to celebrate her birthday” [1]. With his wife’s blessing, her pendant was reproduced in an extremely limited edition of only two, with the Artist’s Proof remaining in Williams-Davidson’s private collection.

As Williams-Davidson is a member of the Gaagyals KiiGawaay (Skedans Raven) clan, the inspiration for Hawk Moon Pendant was drawn from “one aspect of the character of a crest from the village of Skedans [...] a lineage crest of Terry-Lynn Williams” [2]. The Hawk Moon motif can be found on the frontal board of the unusual double post mortuary pole at Ḵ'uuna Llnagaay (Skedans) [see Fig. 1]. The Moon crest could only be used by a Raven Chief and the Hawk was a crest of the Raven people. The design can be understood as a visual metaphor of the brief moment where the Moon and Hawk pass one another on their respective flights in the sky [3].

Although the Hawk Moon pole was documented in 1878 and is referenced in a number of Emily Carr’s watercolours of around 1913, the whereabouts of this mortuary board, as is the case with many other poles once at Ḵ'uuna, are currently unknown. As such, Hawk Moon Pendant serves not only as an outstanding example of the skill of Davidson as a goldsmith, but also as a testament to his thoughtful and informed imagery, which has propelled him to become one of the most celebrated Canadian artists working today.

1. Wyatt, Mythical Beings: Spirit Art of the Northwest Coast, 1999, p. 35.
2. Ibid.
3. Smyly, The Totem Poles of Skedans, 1975, p. 71.

References: In 2020, Williams-Davidson wore the wood pendant in the photo for her representation of Skil Jaada (Wealth Woman) for her solo exhibition at the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art, Out of Concealment: Female Supernatural Beings of Haida Gwaii. See: Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson, Out of Concealment: Female Supernatural Beings of Haida Gwaii, exh. (Victoria, BC: Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art / Heritage House Publishing, 2020), pp. 56-57. The boxwood pendant is reproduced in Gary Wyatt, Mythical Beings: Spirit Art of the Northwest Coast, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1999), p. 36. At the time of this publication, the boxwood Hawk Moon Pendant, is also visible on Davidson’s website, www.robertdavidson.ca/jewellery. For the double mortuary pole referenced, see John Smyly, The Totem Poles of Skedans, (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1975), p. 71. For an overview of the cast gold techniques, see Alexander Dawkins, Understanding Northwest Coast Indigenous Jewelery: The Art, The Artists, The History, (Vancouver / Berkeley: Greystone Books, 2019), p. 50-53; For an excellent survey of the artist’s career, see Ian Thom, Robert Davidson: Eagle of the Dawn, (Vancouver: Vancouver Art Gallery, 1993). It is worth noting that, in 1964, Davidson’s mentor, Bill Reid, with his German assistant Werner True, recreated Chief Skedans Mortuary Pole in Victoria Park. Subsequently, Reid created a work that looks remarkably similar to Davidson’s, who was undoubtedly inspired by Reid. Reid’s pendant is reproduced in Karen Duffek, Bill Reid: Beyond the Essential Form, (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1986), pl. VII, reproduced p. 15, as “Brooch” and “Hawk, 1971” and in Martine J. Reid, Bill Reid Collected, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre Ltd., 2016), reproduced p. 84 as “c. 1970”. pp. 35-36.