Coin silver bracelet with double killer whale design, covering outer surface except for a very thin border. Two whales facing each other at centre, noses not quite touching. Tails go out to each end. Crosshatched background. The bracelet has squared ends, with two hook clasps and corresponding slots.

• Narrative

  Purchased by donor from a 2013 Heffel Canadian Art auction in Toronto, previously from a private collection in California.

• History Of Use

  Metalwork has a long history in copper and iron on the Northwest Coast. Silver and gold American coins—from which the early Haida bracelets were made—were scarce along the Northwest Coast until the 1860s. Ginaawaan would have been one of the first generation of silversmiths, as he was already accomplished by his death in 1876.

• Specific Techniques

  The artist would have hammered out the silver or gold coins, or first melted them into ingots, and then engraved them.

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• Type of Item bracelet
• Culture Kaigani
• Material silver metal
• Measurements height 3.2 cm, width 7.0 cm, depth 6.2 cm (overall)

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• Creator Duncan Ginaawaan
• Previous Owner Elspeth McConnell
• Received from Elspeth McConnell

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• Made in Alaska

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• Creation Date between 1860 and 1876
• Ownership Date before August 12, 2017
• Acquisition Date on August 12, 2017

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• Item Classes metalwork
• Condition good
• Accession Number 3260/0181