- Copper
- The most important symbol of wealth, power, status and prestige is the Copper, a shield-shaped object made of beaten copper, sometimes engraved with symbols. A copper has a rectangular base segmented with a ridged "T" line; the non-segmented top portion of the shield flares beyond the width of this base. Chiefs were known to cut off a piece of his copper and give it to an honored guest or rival at a potlatch. A broken copper in this manner did not loose value: on the contrary, such a display increased a copper's worth.Return to top
- Eagle
- Eagle is one of the most important beings in art and mythology of the Northwest Coast peoples. It is respected for its intelligence and power. In many regions, families that carry the Eagle crest are traditionally the most prominent. In the designs, Eagle is identified by a powerful beak whose upper half ends in a strong downward curve and hook back towards the body. Eagle has no ears or small ears which may indicate magic powers.Return to top
- Frog
- Frog is a creature that lives in two worlds: water and land. This crab of the woods is revered for its adaptability, knowledge and power to traverse worlds and inhabit diverse realms, both natural and supernatural. Frogs are primary spirit helpers of shamans. In the art this great communicator is often shown sharing its tongue or touching tongues with another creature in an exchange of knowledge or power. Frog is identified by a large mouth, usually thick-lipped and has bent legs with webbed feet and a protruding tongue.Return to top
- Hummingbird
- This symbol of love and beauty is identified by a long, narrow beak; prominent eyes; small head and sometimes with a small curly plume with the presence of flowers. Haida stories tell of high-ranking women arriving at feasts with live hummingbirds tied to their hair to announce their beauty, wealth and prestige.Return to top
- Killer Whale
- In stories, these majestic creatures are associated with strength, dignity, prosperity and longevity. They are also associated with copper and wealth. Killer whales are thought to be reincarnations of great chiefs and are considered to be closely related to humans and the wolf. Killer whale may be identified by a large, long snub-nosed head; elongated nostrils; a wide, toothy mouth; a blowhole; a prominent dorsal fin; two small pectoral fins and a fluked tail.Return to top
- Limited Edition
- An edition or set of prints of a known number of impressions, usually fewer than 200, numbered and signed.Return to top
- Lithography
- In the graphic arts, a method of printing from a prepared flat stone or metal or plastic plate, invented in the late 18th century. A drawing is made on the stone or plate with a greasy crayon or tusche, and then washed with water.Return to top
- Masks
- Masks are widely used on the Northwest Coast and they exemplify sacred ceremony and ritual practices. A mask may be worn over the face, or over the entire head and even in some cases much of the body. The entity or entities represented by the mask confers knowledge, status and special powers to the human wearer. Historically, masks were carefully stored most of the year and only brought out for ceremonial occasions.Return to top
- Octopus
- Octopus is a powerful sea spirit helper, often shown in complex compositions involving other creatures. Myths speak of these eight armed devilfish monsters who occasionally devour canoes and sometimes entire villages. Octopus is identified by long tentacles that have round marks, often in double rows which represent suckers with a round, high head, large eyes and a short beak like mouth.Return to top
- Original
- Any work considered to be an authentic example of the works of an artist, rather than a reproduction. Original may also mean the first, preceding all others. In that sense, it may refer to a prototype, a model after which other works are made.Return to top
- Painting
- Works of art made with paint on a surface. Often the surface is either a tightly stretched piece of canvas or a panel.Return to top
- Panels
- Panels are among contemporary media for Northwest Coast art. Carved and painted cedar planks and doors often depict a Northwest Coast story, animals or crests.Return to top
- Raven
- Raven is one of the most important beings in Northwest Coast art and mythology. Raven is known as the trickster who is intelligent, curious, lustful and impulsive. Raven has the power to transform both himself and other beings. He put the sun, moon and stars in the sky, fish in the sea, salmon in the rivers and food onto the land. Raven is distinguished by a fairly long, straight beak having a blunt or short turned-down tip and usually a tongue.Return to top
- Reproduction
- The act of reproducing; copying; creating a facsimile. The product of the act of reproducing, especially when it is significantly faithful in its resemblance to the form and elements of the original.Return to top
- Sea Otter
- The sea otter known to be intelligent, resourceful and agile, as well as the legendary transformer that journeyed about, transforming people into creatures of the animal world. Otter representations are identified by long, streamlined bodies with legs and feet tucked in with a long thick tail, small ears a small head. Traditionally, sea otter is shown on its back, often grasping a shell or sea urchin.Return to top
- Serigraphy
- A stencil method of printmaking in which an image is imposed on a silk or other fine mesh, with blank areas coated with an impermeable substance, and ink is forced through the mesh onto the printing surface. Also called silkscreen and screen-printing.Return to top
- Totem Pole
- Totem poles, each carved from a single cedar trunk, are among the largest works created by Northwest Coast artists. Traditionally, free standing poles were placed before houses to proclaim the identity and status of the owners. Totem poles were carved and decorated with paint to display the owners' family history, ancestors and crests. Other types of carved poles include the house posts that hold up the beams of the house and mortuary poles that hold the remains of the deceased in a box at the top.Return to top
