Museum of Anthropology at UBC -- Part II

As you approach the entrance to the Museum of Anthropology which I wrote about previously, you are greeted by the figure below, carved in 1997 by Susan Point, an internationally renowned native artist of the Musqueam band, on whose traditional land the Museum is built.

Imich Siiyem - Welcome to good people

The collections at the MOA comprise many objects from the First Nations (or native) cultures of British Columbia. Since most of these are composed of wood they deteriorate over time and many fine pieces have been collected here in an effort to preserve them.

Haida Totem pole fragments

You may remember the soaring glass windows of this building in my previous post and they form the outer wall of the Great Hall, where there are some magnificent examples in red cedar of large totem poles and house poles which held the beams of the structures.

Sun streaming through the full length windows
into the Great Hall

Close-up of the house post with built-in
seat, seen above at the end of the hall

Detail of figure holding up the seat

Potlaches which are ceremonial gathering involving feasts require large vessels for the food and below are some examples of very fine feast dishes as they are called, along with assorted storage boxes.

Ornately carved feast dishes

Haida Bear, large sculpture carved by Bill Reid
in 1963, standing in the Great Hall

Bentwood boxes were used for many purposes by First Nations people. As well as for storage they served as drums and cradles and even coffins. They are made from a single plank of cedar wood which is notched for three corners. After steaming until pliable the plank is then carefully bent into a box. The fourth corner is sewn with cedar roots or pegged, with the bottom attached in the same manner.

This fine Haida bentwood box dates around 1870

Weaving was a traditional craft of the Musqueam and other coastal communities for thousands of years until around 1900 when it died out as a craft with the Musqueam. However around 1984 it was revived and this spectacular blanket was woven for the Museum by Debra and Robyn Sparrow in 1999.

Contemporary woven blanket

Of course the highlight for me in this museum is the monumental Bill Reid sculpture, the Raven and the First Men which naturally I considered deserving of its own post. There is an excellent gift store in the Museum where you can buy many small items and books plus some very fine modern art pieces.

$1150 will buy you this very powerful Cannibal Mask by Rupert Scow

Thank you for making it to the end of this very long post about a museum of which I am very fond, so much so that I have an annual membership and can visit whenever I wish.