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Provenance:

Private Collection, Ontario

Note:

Best known as a master carver in the Coast Salish tradition, Andrea Wilbur-Sigo is the first known woman carver in a family with a long tradition of the artform. Working early on in beadwork, Wilbur-Sigo was fascinated by sculptural forms, and has since been acclaimed for her work across a range of media and subject matter including bentwood boxes, welcome figures, house posts, masks, panels, button blankets, twine, twill weaving, and baskets weaving. Wilbur-Sigo notes, “It’s always said, ‘Women didn’t carve.’ That was normal and a lot of people believed it. But I come from a lot of stubborn women. You can’t tell me they didn’t pick up a knife and carve.” (1)

Many of the artist’s most important works are in public collections and major works by the artist are uncommon on the secondary market. Wilbur-Sigo’s creations are on public display and held in collections at the University of Washington; Chief Seattle Clubs, an affordable housing development in Victoria, BC; Washington State Convention Center, City of Olympia, and Kraken Community complex in Northgate, WA, among others. (2)

The present box, made in a Northern Northwest Coast style is finely carved and painted in a corner orientation. Of traditional pegged construction, it is made without the use of adhesives. The lid and base are cut from red cedar, as are the four walls of the box, which are carved and steam-bent from a single 44-inch length of timber.

(1) Brennan, Natasha. “From house posts to hockey sticks, Squaxin artist Andrea Wilbur-Sigo carves her way.” The News Tribune. May 27, 2022. https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/state/washington/article255590371.html
(2) Stusser, Danny and Julia Ornedo. “‘Unity’ gateway carvings unveiled on Eastside Street.” The JOLT News. December 8, 2023. https://www.thejoltnews.com/stories/unity-gateway-carvings-unveiled-on-eastside-street,4533