Salish Welcome Figure 1994
Cedar and bark | 75.0 cm (whole object) | RCIN 74171
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A red cedar model potlatch figure: a carved figure of a man standing with arms outstretched, wearing a breech clout and twined cedar bark or grass hat; with an integral rectangular base with rounded corners, inscribed.
This figure is a model of the large anthropomorphic welcome figures used in a potlatch, a First Nations ceremony of feasting, gift-giving and wealth redistribution. Guests arriving in a village are greeted by figures of this kind, often depicted with arms outstretched or shading their eyes as if looking out across the water for arrivals.
Doug LaFortune is a master carver from the Tsawout people of the Coast Salish First Nation, north-western Canada.Provenance
Presented to Queen Elizabeth II at the opening of the XV Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada, in 1994
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Creator(s)
(nationality)Acquirer(s)