UNIDENTIFIED TLINGIT ARTIST
Red Corner Box, c. 1890-1910
spruce wood and pigment, 10.5 x 10.25 x .9.5 in (26.7 x 26 x 2.3 cm)
unsigned.

Provenance
Private Collection, Calgary.

Square storage boxes of this design are an old tradition among the Tlingit, appearing in historical photographs of house interiors well back into the nineteenth century. These containers appear simple and straightforward but are imbued with subtle characteristics that elevate their artistry. The sides are not flat but are given curvature while still in the plank stage, before the corner kerfs that enable them to bend are carved. This reveals the flat-grain patterns of the growth rings on each side. The lids are fitted with a rabbet that keeps them in place and protects the contents; often dried fish, roots, or other foodstuffs like seaweed. Spruce wood is used for these boxes because it imparts no resin smells or tastes to the contents. This box is of small to medium size at 10 inches, while others range to sizes around 18 inches across, and miniatures as small as one inch.

Steven C. Brown

References: For two examples of red corner boxes, see Erna Gunther, Catalogue of the Ethnological Collections in the Sheldon Jackson Museum, (Sitka, Alaska: Sheldon Jackson Museum, 1976), cats. I.A.210a, b, p. 37.