Wood model totem pole

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Description

wood, reddish brown patina, black paint, in shape of a beaver, sitting on his hind legs, identifiable by the broad hatched tail, crowned by a round pole with constrictions, slightly dam., minor missing parts (paws), cracks, traces of insect caused damage;
the Indians of the Northwest Coast used to place totem poles in front of their dwellings carved with mythical animals playing an important role in the family history of the inhabitants. Totem poles were not religiously worshipped, but marked the line of ancestors and their social position in the village community.

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Littérature comparée

Boden, Gertrud, Nordamerika, Köln 1995, p. 102

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