UNIDENTIFIED SALISH or NUU-CHAH-NULTH ARTIST
Model Totem Pole, c. 1915
carved and painted cedar, 12.25 x 2 x 2 in (31.1 x 5.1 x 5.1 cm)
unsigned.

Provenance
Ye Old Curiosity Shop, Seattle, WA, their partial typeset label affixed verso;
Private Collection, Calgary, AB.

An intricate model depicting the Tlingit “Seattle Pole” located in Pioneer Square, Seattle, Washington. Although the identity of this pole’s maker is no longer known, they were prolific and closely associated with the Ye Olde Curiosity Shop in the first two decades of the 20th century, creating variations of this style pole in an array of sizes. See page 173 of Kate Duncan’s 1001 Curious: Ye Olde Curiosity Shop and Native American Art (2000) for a historic photo of similar pieces by this artist. There is a partial Ye Olde Curiosity Shop label attached verso.Duncan, Kate, 1001 Curious Things: Ye Olde Curiosity Shop and Native American Art, (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2000).

— Christopher W. Smith