Antique Nuu-chah-nulth Cedar Totem Pole 9" c.1920-40 Williams Family Style For Sale

Offered for sale is an exceptional early 20th-century Nuu-chah-nulth / Ditidaht hand-carved and polychrome-painted cedar model totem pole, measuring approximately 9 inches tall and retaining an aged painted surface and separate oval wooden base.Research indicates that this model represents the famous Tlingit Kiks.ádi Totem Pole of Wrangell, Alaska, originally carved in the late 19th century by noted Tlingit master carver William James Ukas (Yeeka.aas, 1834–c.1902).The historic Kiks.ádi composition incorporates a distinctive sequence of figures including the Mountain/Person of the Glacier, Frog, Raven, Nestling Raven, Beaver and associated Frog. These same figures have been compressed and adapted into the miniature format of the present pole.DATE: Early 20th century, probably circa 1920–1940CULTURE / ORIGIN: Nuu-chah-nulth / Ditidaht, Northwest Coast, British Columbia, CanadaMATERIAL: Hand-carved cedar with polychrome paint; wooden baseHEIGHT: Approximately 9 inchesSUBJECT: Model interpretation of the historic Tlingit Kiks.ádi pole at Wrangell, AlaskaARTIST / ATTRIBUTION: Unsigned. Artist presently unidentified. Stylistically and historically related to the Sam Williams / Williams-family tradition of Nuu-chah-nulth/Ditidaht model-pole carving.ABOUT THE ATTRIBUTION:Sam Williams (c.1884–1979) and his son Wilson Williams (1908–1965) were important Nuu-chah-nulth/Ditidaht carvers who produced model totem poles for Northwest Coast curio shops and dealers during the first half of the 20th century.The Williams family is particularly relevant to this pole because Sam and Wilson are documented as producing miniature interpretations of famous northern Northwest Coast poles, including designs known through historic photographs and postcards.The present pole is unsigned, and it is therefore NOT being represented as definitively carved by Sam Williams or Wilson Williams. However, its period, cedar construction, small commercial model format, polychrome decoration, carving style and adaptation of a famous northern pole make the early Williams-family carving tradition an important stylistic comparison.A professionally cataloged unsigned Nuu-chah-nulth model pole dating to the circa 1920s has similarly been attributed as “probably Sam Williams” based upon carving and painting characteristics rather than a signature.An especially relevant comparison is another documented 9-inch Nuu-chah-nulth red-cedar model of this same Kiks.ádi pole, cataloged as circa 1940. It features essentially the same historic subject and demonstrates that Nuu-chah-nulth artists were producing small cedar versions of the Kiks.ádi composition during this period.CONDITION:Good antique condition consistent with age and use. Original-looking painted surface exhibits expected rubbing, scratches, small losses and wear, particularly along projecting carved areas. The unfinished reverse shows natural aging and surface wear. The separate wooden base shows age, wear and a small drying/shrinkage split visible from underneath.No signature has been located on the pole or base.Please examine all photographs carefully for condition, construction and surface details. Photographs form an important part of the description.HISTORICAL NOTE:The original monumental Kiks.ádi pole was created at Wrangell, Alaska, by Tlingit master carver William James Ukas in the late 19th century. The celebrated composition became widely known through photographs, postcards and Northwest Coast tourism and was subsequently reproduced in miniature by numerous Indigenous artists.William Ukas himself produced sophisticated miniature versions around 1890–1900. During the following decades, Nuu-chah-nulth/Ditidaht artists—including members of the Williams carving family—became known for adapting famous northern poles into hand-carved models for collectors and the tourist trade in Seattle, Vancouver and Victoria.This approximately 9-inch example appears to belong to that early model-pole tradition and presents a particularly recognizable miniature interpretation of the historic Kiks.ádi composition.PLEASE NOTE: The dating and cultural/artistic attribution are based upon stylistic comparison and published examples. With no signature or documented original provenance, the individual carver cannot presently be established with certainty. It is being sold as an unsigned early Nuu-chah-nulth/Ditidaht model pole, possibly associated with the Williams-family carving tradition, rather than as a definitively authenticated work by Sam Williams.A fascinating early Northwest Coast model pole with an identifiable historic prototype and strong connections to the important early 20th-century model-pole trade.