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<p>[QUOTE="all_fakes, post: 10317314, member: 55"]More details - since I do know a lot about Tsimshian totem poles from the Metlakatla area. This is indeed a model of the Chief Johnson totem, now standing in Ketchikan. Depicts a story about Raven and Fog Woman; I've seen the two birds referred to as owls, but more accurately they are probably referred to as slaves of Raven. It is missing a bird (called the Kajuk) which should be at the top.</p><p>Yours is not as well-carved as the one at Ciscos, for whatever reason.</p><p>Ciscos price is probably based on the name - Conrad Mather poles, signed, are not as common as some others; but that does not necessarily indicate they are well-carved. This one was done very quickly, but is certainly genuine.</p><p>Brief Metlakatla history:</p><p>Metlakatla, Alaska was founded in 1887 by a lay minister, William Duncan, and a group of around 830 Tshimsian who followed him from Old Metlakatla, which Duncan had established in what would become British Columbia. Duncan banned traditional practices but encouraged carving of souvenirs.</p><p> Models of the real totems in Ketchikan, especially the Chief Kian and Chief Johnson totems, were a common subject for the early Metlakatla carvers, and a totem sometimes called the "good luck" totem, based on a Tsimshian clan totem was specific to Metlakatla. Carvers included the Mather family, Caspar and George and Conrad, Eli Tait, Clyde Boyd and a number of others.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="all_fakes, post: 10317314, member: 55"]More details - since I do know a lot about Tsimshian totem poles from the Metlakatla area. This is indeed a model of the Chief Johnson totem, now standing in Ketchikan. Depicts a story about Raven and Fog Woman; I've seen the two birds referred to as owls, but more accurately they are probably referred to as slaves of Raven. It is missing a bird (called the Kajuk) which should be at the top. Yours is not as well-carved as the one at Ciscos, for whatever reason. Ciscos price is probably based on the name - Conrad Mather poles, signed, are not as common as some others; but that does not necessarily indicate they are well-carved. This one was done very quickly, but is certainly genuine. Brief Metlakatla history: Metlakatla, Alaska was founded in 1887 by a lay minister, William Duncan, and a group of around 830 Tshimsian who followed him from Old Metlakatla, which Duncan had established in what would become British Columbia. Duncan banned traditional practices but encouraged carving of souvenirs. Models of the real totems in Ketchikan, especially the Chief Kian and Chief Johnson totems, were a common subject for the early Metlakatla carvers, and a totem sometimes called the "good luck" totem, based on a Tsimshian clan totem was specific to Metlakatla. Carvers included the Mather family, Caspar and George and Conrad, Eli Tait, Clyde Boyd and a number of others.[/QUOTE]
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