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Rufus Moody Original Hand Carved Signed Argillite Totem Haida BC 1960 Rare

$ 494.2

Availability: 100 in stock

Description

Beautifully carved Argillite totem pole by famous Haida argillite carver Rufus Moody.  Signed.  7" high on a 2.25" base.  Eagle at crown.  Raven? maybe, although mostly Raven is shown with a longer beak, swallowing a fish, I think.  NOTE the side of the tail of the fish on the left side of the bird is broken off.  Right side intact.  At the base is a human holding something with a face on it.  The human is depicted with a head as big as the rest of his body, so it might be some mythical figure, although it could just as well be the artistic conventions of this art, making the figures occupy whatever space there is.
Signed "Carved by Rufus Moody" - one of the better-known carvers.
Wikipedia lists him in its article on argillite carving.
It looks like someone tried to erase some other words, such as he often wrote, like the location and maybe original price.   Old paper tag that I cannot read.
NOTE - All Haida argillite sculptures are dark black, and are hard to photograph.  I have brightened these pictures to show the details.