Kwakiutl Polychromed Wood Figure

Collected in the field by George Hunt
Museum of the American Indian, New York, Heye Foundation, 2/8552
Acquired through exchange in July 1921 by George Oldman, London
K.J. Hewitt, London
Private New York Collection

This figure is shown in Edward Sheriff Curtis' 1914 photograph of a Kwakiutl Chief's eldest daughter enthroned during a potlatch. In the same year, Curtis filmed In the Land of the Head-Hunters, a silent film based on the mythology of the Kwakiutl Indians. He was assisted on the production by George Hunt, a primary collaborator of Franz Boas, who likely collected this handsome piece at that time.