MASQUE DE L'ESPRIT DU CIEL TSIMSHIAN A TSIMSHIAN SPIRIT MASK OF THE UPPER AIR, KINCOLITH, RIVIÈRE NASS, COLOMBIE-BRITANNIQUE, CANADA

MASQUE DE L'ESPRIT DU CIEL TSIMSHIAN
A TSIMSHIAN SPIRIT MASK OF THE UPPER AIR
KINCOLITH, RIVIÈRE NASS, COLOMBIE-BRITANNIQUE, CANADA

Hauteur : 24.4 cm. (9 5/8 in.)

Special Notice

On occasion, Christie's has a direct financial interest in lots consigned for sale which may include guaranteeing a minimum price or making an advance to the consignor that is secured solely by consigned property. This is such a lot. This indicates both in cases where Christie's holds the financial interest on its own, and in cases where Christie's has financed all or a part of such interest through a third party. Such third parties generally benefit financially if a guaranteed lot is sold successfully and may incur a loss if the sale is not successful.
In addition to the regular Buyer’s premium, a commission of 5.5% inclusive of VAT of the hammer price will be charged to the buyer. It will be refunded to the Buyer upon proof of export of the lot outside the European Union within the legal time limit. (Please refer to section VAT refunds)

Pre-Lot Text
It was a dance of masks and every mask was perfect because every mask
Was a real face and every face was a real mask so there was no mask and
There was no face for there was but one dance in which there was but one
Mask but one true face which was the same and which was a thing without
A name which changed and changed into itself over and over.
Cohen, L., Beautiful Losers, 1966
Post Lot Text
GEORGES T. EMMONS
G.T. Emmons (1852-1945) était sans doute l'un des plus importants collectionneurs sur le terrain de l'art de la côte Nord-Ouest. Fils d'amiral, Emmons s'est lancé sans grand succès dans une carrière militaire qui l'a finalement mené à Sitka, en Alaska, où il était en poste en 1882. « Un homme remarquable, qui ne semblait jamais tout à fait capable de s'intégrer confortablement dans la société […] il découvrit rapidement un groupe de gens qui l'admiraient et qu'il vint à admirer lui-même - les Indiens Tlingit. C'était certainement une situation des plus inattendues pour un homme élevé dans une famille conservatrice de protestants […] Emmons s’est vite retrouvé à passer plus de temps avec les Indiens d'Alaska qu'avec ses collègues officiers blancs […] » (Jonaitis, A., 1988, p. 89). Sa curiosité et son ouverture d'esprit l'ont aidé à tisser des liens étroits avec plusieurs nobles indiens, et de nombreuses familles l'ont accueilli dans leurs potlatch, où il a pu observer directement la fonction et découvrir la signification des objets qu'il collectionnait. Bien qu'il n'ait reçu aucune formation anthropologique, Emmons a été en mesure de recueillir une quantité importante d'informations sur les œuvres d'art qu'il a achetées. Les notes de terrain qui accompagnent bon nombre d’objets qu'il a rassemblés reflètent une incroyable richesse d'informations anthropologiques quant à leur utilisation, leur symbolisme, leur signification et leur histoire. Outre l'American Museum of Natural History qui abrite probablement les plus grandes et les plus belles collections d'artefacts Tlingit, d'autres objets importants collectés par Emmons se trouvent au Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum à Seattle, au Royal Ontario Museum of Archaeology (Toronto), au Museum of the American Indian (New York), à l'U.S. National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.), au Field Museum of Natural history (Chicago), à l'University of Pennsylvania Museum (Philadelphie), à l'Alaska State Museum (Juneau) et au Sheldon Jackson Museum (Sitka).
GEORGES T. EMMONS
G.T. Emmons (1852-1945) was arguably one of the most important field collectors of Northwest Coast art. Son of an admiral, Emmons embarked without great success on a military career that ultimately took him to Sitka, Alaska where he was stationed in 1882. “A remarkable man, who seemed never quite able to fit comfortably into white society […] he quickly discovered a group of people who admired him and whom he came to admire – the Tlingit Indians. This was certainly a most unexpected situation for a man raised in a conservative household of white Protestants […] Emmons soon found himself spending more time with the Alaskan Indians than with his fellow white officers […]” (Jonaitis, A., 1988, p. 89). His curiosity and open-mindedness helped him forge tight bonds with several Indian noblemen, and many families welcomed him to their potlatches, at which he could observe firsthand the function and discover the meaning of objects he collected. Although lacking any anthropological training, Emmons was able to collect an important amount of information about the artworks he purchased. The field notes which accompany many of the objects he gathered, reflect an incredible richness of anthropological information as to their use, symbolism, significance, and history. Besides the American Museum of Natural History that hosts probably the largest and finest collections of Tlingit artefacts, other important collections made by Emmons are in the Thomas Burke Memorial Washington state Museum in Seattle, the Royal Ontario Museum of Archaeology (Toronto), the Museum of the American Indian (New York), the U.S. National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.), the Field Museum of Natural history (Chicago), the University of (of Pennsylvania) Museum (Philadelphia), the Alaska State Museum (Juneau), and the Sheldon Jackson Museum (Sitka).