t’aaGuu (Copper)

Coppers can be named, displayed, and transferred in accordance with ceremonial privilege and protocol. Historically, within potlatch economies, coppers would rise in value each time they were purchased, ceremonially presented, and strategically re-sold or given away. Among the Kwakwaka’wakw, coppers were sometimes cut or broken during rivalries. Some of these were riveted together and used again, their value then having to be re-established.

status; wealth; ceremonial; potlatch

Traditional shield-shaped whole copper with a T-shaped raised design element that divides the bottom section in half and separates the top section from the bottom. Each section is flat metal that has been rounded to a curve outward. The sides curve inward from top to bottom and the top edge curves outward. The bottom edge is somewhat pointed at the centre and overall the bottom is narrower than the top.