Double Mortuary Totem Pole

According to Hilary Stewart's "Looking at Totem Poles" (1963: pp. 60-61): "A large double mortuary pole in an early photograph of Skidegate on the Queen Charlotte Islands--once the home of Bill Reid's mother--provided the carver with inspiration and reference for this one."

Carved at the University of British Columbia for display at 'Totem Park' in 1960-61. In 1978 the entire Haida House complex was moved to the grounds outside the new Museum of Anthropology building, however this pole appears to have been installed earlier, in 1975 as it is visible in video footage during construction. According to Hilary Stewart, this pole originally had a box structure attached to it (which, on a real mortuary pole, would have held remains of the deceased person the pole was made for). In 1974 the piece was dismantled and shipped to Expo '74 in Spokane, Washington (4 May to 3 November 1974). It was also listed as being in the exhibition "Bill Reid: a Retrospective Exhibition", November 6-December 8, 1974, at the Vancouver Art Gallery (it's listed as exhibit item number 167 in the exhibit catalogue). On its return to the Museum it was reassembled without a box.

Pole consists of two plain uprights with an attached panel joining them at the top. The wide frontal panel depicts Dogfish in a split-design that combines both two and three dimensions, one flowing into the other. The body of the dogfish/ shark shows the characteristic sharp spine and dorsal fin at the top, the pectoral fins on either side of the mouth, and the asymmetrical tail in each lower corner.