Featured 2 Pieces West Coast Carvings

Hi,
I picked up a couple of pieces and hoping to find some more information.
Any information appreciated.
thanks for looking
#1 is a face, no mark to indicate by who. I think West Coast but can't narrow it down, not sure if that is possible. It is 9"H x6"D x 7 1/2"W. This is an odd one to photograph, the straight on photo makes the face look much thinner than looking at it in person, not sure why.

 

#2 is a hummingbird signed Art C II for Art Charlie II. No real mention of him other than he is the older brother of Ike Charlie.

 

The hummer is a more recent tourist carving....there's flocks of em...

The mask is Tsonokwa, the Wild Woman of the Woods.
Done in beautiful red cedar , this Kwakiutl style & design was a popular first step in the student mask carving process.

In 1970, Tony Hunt established the Arts of the Raven Gallery in Victoria, BC, overseeing an apprenticeship program for aspiring young Aboriginal carvers.

A wealth of masks like this , from the Hunt family as well as many of their students were carved and sold there.
They became popular with the tourist trade in Victoria, & launched the careers of many well known.....and lesser known carvers.
Although some were signed...mostly the Hunt's, many others left the Island in the hands of a welcoming public , never to be associated with the artist who created them.
The mask is identified by it's half moon style, overly thick amount of red cedar wood , and a lack of any real carving on the inside , for it was vastly more important to practice getting the face structure ... balance & symmetry , to where it had to be .

 

Interesting,thank-you very much for all the information komokwa

 

You are most welcome..!

 

Komo is spot-on, as usual. I might add, if it was not entirely clear, that this mask is likely not by a Hunt family member, though certainly of that "school."

 

The hummingbird: pretty basic "flat" carving. As mentioned, Art Charlie II is the older brother of Ike Charlie; of the Nuu Chah Nulth tribe (previously Nootka) first nation Ahousaht band (Flores Island, 18 km northwest of Tofino). Ike learned carving from Art, and though Ike also likes hummingbirds, his shown below is somewhat more sophisticated than Art's, above.
Not related to Simon Charlie or Stephen Charlie, Squamish (Coast Salish) so far as I know.

 

Thank-you for the information all_fakes! I like the hummingbird you posted better
quite the difference between the two.

 

Cx, you find the most interesting items! Nice pieces.

 

That is part of the joy, in the process of coming to an appreciation of Northwest Coast Native art.....one begins to note how each carved or painted line can have an elegant curve and taper, with a balance between carved and uncarved areas; not just divisions, but subdivisions.
There is nothing "wrong" with Art C II's use of forms; it is just that they could have been more developed, and more elegant, with a greater degree of "correctness" in the use of the native forms.
And it does not necessarily indicate a lesser artist; even better artists will sometimes produce lesser works. The Ike C hummingbird is much more basic than some of his other carvings; if he were making a mask intended to sell for thousands of dollars, it would show considerably more sophistication and complexity.
And one might recall Ellen Neel, one of the first women carvers: in order to make small totems that could be sold at Stanley Park for one dollar, she designed and produced simplified versions that could be quickly produced, though not exactly "correct." But she was fully capable of carving and painting larger and more sophisticated totems that rivaled those of her grandfather Charlie James.

 

there are wall plaques.....and then there are wall plaques......

 

Thanks Lucille! Sometimes I get lucky
Thanks all_fakes! I like the design of the other hummingbird over his - wings down vs wings up.

Slowly I am noticing more on the pieces I'm finding. I really like the mouth on the face above, it is what makes the piece to me. I also like that it isn't painted, love the look of the wood. Looks great on my mantel!

that is very nice komokwa. Who made it?

 

Chuck Heit.....and early piece of his.....he has vision...& talent....

 

a friend was looking at the 'Wild Woman of the Woods' piece and found a signature - I'm pretty sure it reads Dick Joseph Campbell River BC. I found a biography on him but not finding any pieces of his work to compare the signature - maybe you know of some examples @komokwa
I've fiddled with the photos to get the signature to show up

 

One of those artists where the chances of finding anything online.....is slim.
I'll see if I can dig anything up....

 

How exciting to find a signature on that piece after all this time! Exciting when things like that happen.

 

Thank-you komokwa!

I couldn't believe it when he said it was signed, I had looked at it many times and didn't see anything. It is very hard to see, but geez, I should have noticed it.

 

old pencil siggys have a way of fading......worse if it's a ballpoint...

 

I found a couple of masks by him but they don't show the signature
http://auctions.maynardsfineart.com...alelot=124++++++407+&refno=+++54992&saletype=

 

those look to be later works...being more refined...