Presentation box

This argillite box is in the form of a Haida chief's storage chest. It was made by Alfred Collinson, a Skidegate village artist of the Eagle Clan, born in 1951. The design incorporates a grizzly bear, identified by the tongue extending below its upper teeth, and a beaver, with cross-hatching denoting its scaly tail. 

Haida communities have been carving argillite since about 1830. The material has been used to create pipes, bowls, flutes, boxes and model totem poles for trade. Some of the earliest argillite carvings were bought and collected by fur traders, whalers and adventurers exploring the Pacific Northwest Coast.