Three Native American Masks
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For sale by owner, no middleman
Signed, museum-quality art at dealer prices
Contact: jmatazzoni@me.com
"Kwa-Guilth Sun"by Vern Etzerza$3,200
Hamatsa Ravenby Henry Seaweed$1,900
"Bella Coola Man Transforming into a Raven"by Gene Brabant$1,900 SOLD
"Kwa-Guilth Sun," by Vern Etzerza
"Kwa-Guilth Sun," by Vern Etzerza
Signed, 1984
35” x 35” x 8” deep
Painted and carved wood with copper accents
Vernon Etzerza's work is in the collection of the British Museum and the Royal Museum of British Columbia. A student of master carver Gene Brabant, Eztzerza is particularly well-known for his Sun and Moon masks and typically works in the Tlingit and, as here, Kwakwaka'wakw styles.
The Kwa-Guilth Sun is emblematic of the creative, life-giving force. It typically has at its center either a human face or—as in this mask—a human face with the beak of an eagle or hawk.
Price: $3,200 US Plus shipping
Price: $3,200 US Plus shipping
Comparables for pricing
The items below give a sense of the prices Etzerza's work commands. Of them, only the first displays the complex carving and shape of the mask on offer, though the comparable is half the size.
Sun Mask, Vern Etzerza, 17" H x 20" W x 8" D (half the size), Douglass Reynolds Gallery: $4.500,
Owl Mask by Vern Etzerza, 4.33" x 3.94" (very small), Waddington's: sold for $1,264
Tahltan Moon Mask by Vern Etzerza, Spirts of the West Coast Gallery: $2,898
Hamatsa Raven, by Henry Seaweed
Hamatsa Raven, by Henry Seaweed
Signed by H. Seaweed
Kwakwaka’wakw, Alert Bay, British Columbia
40" x 7” x 7” (not including bark ribbons)
Painted and carved wood with hinged beak and red cedar bark
Comes with lucite stand for mounting.
Henry Seaweed is grandson of the highly influential master carver and Kwakwaka'wakw chief Willie Seaweed.
"Among the most recognized masks of the Kwakwaka’wakw are the massive Hamatsa bird masks: Crooked Beak, Huk-huk and Raven. Members of the Hamatsa Dance Society dance these three masks during the initiation ceremony of new Hamatsa Society members. This particular ceremony dramatizes the struggle of good and evil forces for the young initiate’s soul...The enormous birds try to lure the young person into the dark realm, while the family and tribe work tirelessly to liberate the forces of evil from the young person’s soul." —Stonington Gallery
"The masks and the dances in which they are worn pacify and tame the hamat’sa, who personifies the cannibal spirit and the insatiable nature of life….The articulated beaks clap dramatically during a performance." —Portland Art Museum
Price: $1,900 US Plus shipping
Price: $1,900 US Plus shipping
Comparables for pricing
These prices for Hamatsa masks in a similar style give a useful comparison. All but the first of these examples are considerably smaller than the sale item. None match it for its visual elegance and sophisticated carving.
Hamatsa Raven mask 38" x 9.5" x 13W, Bonhams, $2,500 US
Hamatsa Raven Mask, 21" x 21" x 10" W (much smaller) Spirit Gallery, $3,072 US
Kwakwaka’ Raven Mask, 27" x 10.75" W (smaller), Coastal Peoples Gallery, $5,175 US
Hamatsa Huk Huk Mask, Spirits of the West Coast Gallery, US $3,200
Hamatsa Raven Mask, 26" x 8" x 6" W (much smaller) Devilfiish, $$1,986 US
Three Hamatsa Masks, large, Bonhams Skinner, US $10,000 US
"Bella Coola Man Transforming into a Raven," by Gene Brabant SOLD
"Bella Coola Man Transforming into a Raven," by Gene Brabant SOLD
Signed, 1985
15” deep x 10” x 12” not including hair
Painted and carved wood with hinged beak and horse tail hair fringe
Gene Brabant is an influential master carver and teacher whose work is widely represented in galleries and collected by museums like the Seattle Art Museum and the Royal Museum of British Columbia— which owns a mask by Gene Brabant that is strikingly similar to this one.
"He has the knowledge and ability to carve in many of the Northwest Coast styles but prefers to execute work in the style of Kwaguilth and Bella Coola. Amongst his peers he is considered one of the best and is noted for his attention to detail and fine painting." —Spirits of the West Coast gallery
The Bella Coola say that in the beginning there was no light in the world because an old magician kept it hidden in a box. Raven hated the darkness, so he magically had himself reborn into the magician's family, where he grew up and became the old man's favorite. One day, he finally coaxed the magician into showing him the box of light. Raven snatched it, transformed into his true form and flew off—bringing the sun, moon and stars into the world. This mask captures Raven's moment of metamorphosis from boy to bird.
Price: $1,900 US SOLD
Price: $1,900 US SOLD
Comparables for pricing
A selection of work for sale by Gene Brabant to demonstrate the prices his work commands
Bella Coola Fool Mask by Gene Brabant, 18" x 16" x 15", Douglas Reynolds Gallery: : $3,763
Chief of the Undersea World Mask by Gene Brabant, 16" x 10" x 8", Douglas Reynolds Gallery: $3,763
Moon Mask by Gene Brabant, Lattimer Gallery: $2,258
Kwaguilth Sun by Gene Brabant and Jay Brabant, 29" x 34" Coghlan Collection: $3,010
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