These include masks, panels, paddles bentwood boxes, bowls and dishes, rattles, sticks and staffs and totem poles.

Masks

Masks are a ubiquitous item used throughout the Northwest Coast. They are the focal point of many ceremonial traditions.

They usually cover the wearer’s face or head, but sometimes cover the rest of the body as well. The wearer receives power from the knowledge and characteristics of the creatures depicted on the mask.

Masks may be single pieces of carved cedar or may incorporate multiple interlocking pieces or even hinged, moving parts.

Panels

Simply put, panels are graphic depictions on a flat surface. They may include painted or carved representations of stories, myths, or crests, and are a contemporary phenomenon.

Paddles

Traditional paddles were used by First Nations peoples to steer and propel their large cedar canoes along the coast of British Columbia. Paddles may also be decorative ceremonial items, or could be employed as weapons. Paddles vary from unadorned cedar to brilliantly painted or carved designs.

Bentwood Boxes

Bentwood Boxes are an example of an item with uses ranging from highly practical to highly symbolic.

Traditionally made by steaming, bending and kerfing a single plank of cedar into a box, with a snugly fitting bottom and lid, bentwood boxes are made with no artificial joiners.

Created with exact and rigorous specifications, these boxes were water and even air-tight, making them perfect for food storage or other storage containers. Highly decorated examples were presented to chiefs at potlatches containing gifts and treasures.

Bentwood boxes could also contain cherished hereditary items of the family, or be used for mortuary purposes.

The Edzerza Gallery possesses traditional forms of the Bentwood Box, but also decorative contemporary representations prepared with sandblasted glass.

Bowls and Dishes

Like bentwood boxes, bowls and dishes could vary from daily practical to highly ceremonial items. They might be sized for individual use, or else very large and intended for feast usage to serve many guests. Bowls and dishes may be carved into or painted as a wide variety of animal shapes and forms.

Rattles

Rattles are the prime percussion instrument next to drums and are widely used for spiritual, medicinal, and ceremonial purposes. Their sound was deemed to have magical qualities with the power to and calm ferocious and untamed individuals and animals.

Sticks and Staffs

On ceremonial occasions with large gatherings of people, talking sticks and staffs were used to organize speakers and direct audience attention in a controlled manner.

Totem Poles

Monumental poles were carved, painted and raised for a multitude of ceremonial purposes, including the recognition of births and deaths of chiefly family members, historical events such as potlatches, and other important occasions. Poles were most often carved from red cedar, but as with bentwood boxes, Edzerza Gallery also carries contemporary glass interpretations of totem poles.