Bear Head or Knob, 1981

Douglas Reynolds Gallery, Vancouver Private Collection

Martine J. Reid, "Bill Reid Collected", British Columbia, 2016, similar work "Bear Head" (1981) in bronze reproduced on page 114 Bill Reid, "Gallant Beasts and Monsters", Vancouver, 1992, similar work "Bear Pendant" (1992) reproduced page 36 (figure xiii) and listed page 41

Iljuwas Bill Reid is celebrated as one of the most significant Northwest Coast artists of the twentieth century. A member of Raven-Wolf Clan of the Haida Nation, Reid followed in the footsteps of his great-great- uncle, master carver and silversmith, Daxhiigang (Charles Edenshaw), to create a fusion of Haida traditions that melded with his own modernist aesthetic. "Bear Head or Knob", 1981 (lot 50), and "Grizzly Bear Ring", 1976 (lot 51), showcase Reid’s technical skills as a master carver and metalsmith, allowing him to work in a range of materials from silver and gold to ivory and abalone. The Bear was a favorite subject of Reid’s and serves as an important symbol for the Haida Nation. In Haida mythology, the Bear Mother is a well-known legend shared by many Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast. The legend emphasizes the importance of honouring and respecting animals, particularly bears, representing a mythic time when bears and humans lived in respectful tolerance of one another. Gerald McMaster writes: “In alignment with Haida views, [Reid] understood that his craftsmanship was not for human eyes alone—that, regardless of scale, care in producing a well- made object took into account that the ‘gods see everywhere.’” At the core of Reid’s artistic practice were the concepts of deeply carved and well-made objects. Reid believed that “one basic quality unites all of the works of mankind that speak to us in human, recognizable voices across the barriers of time, culture, and space: the simple quality of being well-made.” Doris Shadbolt expands on this idea, stating that these objects “must carry the charge that invests the images with their life as form and hence their meaning, empowering them, in short, to be carved deeply into our consciousness.” Reid’s "Grizzly Bear Ring" and "Bear Head or Knob" embody these concepts, which testify to a quintessential Haida way of seeing and making.