Mid 20th Century Vintage Whale Motif Ceramic Bowl by Henry Hunt

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Offered is a green ceramic bowl with raised whale motif.

Bio: Hunt, Henry, Kwakwaka'wakw (KWAKIUTL) artist (b at Fort Rupert, … Read more Offered is a green ceramic bowl with raised whale motif.

Bio: Hunt, Henry, Kwakwaka'wakw (KWAKIUTL) artist (b at Fort Rupert, BC 16 Oct 1923; d at Victoria 13 Mar 1985), grandson of George Hunt, father of Tony and Richard Hunt. A principal carver at the BC Provincial Museum for nearly 20 years. He is considered to be a master carver and his work is found in international collections, both private and museum.

Around 1965, Hunt partnered with an enterprise known as Canadian Art Ceramics. The Production Process: Hunt created original, master wood carvings. These carvings were utilized to make production molds at Lloyd-El Ceramics in Victoria, British Columbia.The Artworks: The molds were used to cast a wide variety of commercial items, including ceremonial-style masks, miniature totem poles, chessmen, dishes, buttons, and pins. Hunt’s wife, Helen Hunt, meticulously hand-finished the cast pieces prior to firing. While a small portion of the items were painted in traditional, multi-colored Kwakwaka'wakw formline style, the vast majority were finished in single-color glazes, such as deep greens or earthy tones.

This ceramic line was explicitly targeted toward the mid-century tourist market, expanding income sources for Indigenous artists at a time when traditional practices were just recovering from decades of Canadian legal prohibition (the Potlatch Ban). Though originally produced as mass-market souvenirs, these authentic collaborations between a master carver and regional ceramic studios have since become highly prized, scarce collectibles sought after by mid-century art historians. Surviving examples, such as Hunt's famous green-glazed ceramic masks, have been featured in major institution exhibitions like the Vancouver Art Gallery's Modern in the Making. See less