Circa 1870
Height 29" Width 21" x 22 1/2"
Provenance: Paul and Mary Thiry, Seattle, WA
This is a magnificent and large Tlingit bentwood box from Southeast Alaska. As their English name suggests, the sides of these boxes are made from a single plank of Western Red Cedar that is steamed to make it pliable and then bent into a rectangle.
The grooves, or kerfs, cut into the plank before steaming allow three corners to sit flush together with seamless outside corners that artists can carve and paint. While the sides of these boxes are elaborately decorated, the top and bottom were often kept plain.
Bentwood boxes are valued possessions for families and are used to store their most cherished items. The seamless, bentwood sides and heavy lid are exceptionally good at keeping out water and other natural elements. But these boxes are used for more than just general storage!
They were cooked in (the craftsmanship of these boxes are so precise and air tight you could boil in them!), used as storage boxes for food, medicine or ceremonial regalia, water buckets, burial boxes, canoe tackle boxes, drum boxes, and so on. Additionally, bentwood boxes are heirlooms that may communicate a specific family's history. This example shows a beautiful well used patina.
INQUIRE HERE
Circa 1870
Height 29" Width 21" x 22 1/2"
Provenance: Paul and Mary Thiry, Seattle, WA
This is a magnificent and large Tlingit bentwood box from Southeast Alaska. As their English name suggests, the sides of these boxes are made from a single plank of Western Red Cedar that is steamed to make it pliable and then bent into a rectangle.
The grooves, or kerfs, cut into the plank before steaming allow three corners to sit flush together with seamless outside corners that artists can carve and paint. While the sides of these boxes are elaborately decorated, the top and bottom were often kept plain.
Bentwood boxes are valued possessions for families and are used to store their most cherished items. The seamless, bentwood sides and heavy lid are exceptionally good at keeping out water and other natural elements. But these boxes are used for more than just general storage!
They were cooked in (the craftsmanship of these boxes are so precise and air tight you could boil in them!), used as storage boxes for food, medicine or ceremonial regalia, water buckets, burial boxes, canoe tackle boxes, drum boxes, and so on. Additionally, bentwood boxes are heirlooms that may communicate a specific family's history. This example shows a beautiful well used patina.
INQUIRE HERE
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