Description
What a complex idea: to take the iconic steam-bent box shape & convert that to a tiny sterling silver earring. These little bentwood box earrings display a design on each side of the box & the detail is amazing. Designed by Tlingit artist Mark Preston, these earrings are abstract but undeniably Northwest Coast. Each earring measures 1" x 1/2". They are sterling silver & the modern designs within each box panel have been laser carved. Bentwood boxes are unique to the Northwest Coast First Nations peoples of North America. Culturally, bentwood boxes are used for symbolic as well as practical purposes; large chests with elaborate designs are often presented to honored guests during feasts or potlatches, used as burial boxes for ancestors, & used for safekeeping of textiles & regalia. More simply designed boxes are used for storage of everyday clothing & household items, for transporting goods, cooking, & storing important carved pieces. The design usually represents the clans & can depict the rank, social status, individual wealth, resource rights, & spiritual connections of the owner. They can also portray stories or events in history, be carved to commemorate such events, or what the box was meant to store. These boxes are prized by families & passed down to succeeding generations. Boxes of different shapes perform different functions; for example, a canoe box will have a downward taper so they can sit snugly in the front of a canoe to transport regalia, fishing gear, & supplies. The wood used for steam-bending is tight-grained red or yellow cedar. A plank is divided into four sections by carving, or 'kerfing', grooves halfway through at the corners. The entire cedar plank is steamed, & then carefully folded to form the four sides. The open end is pegged together, the bottom piece is secured up into the box, & a lid is then tightly fitted over the top. The box is finally carved and/or painted if meant for ceremony, or left unadorned if meant to act as a cooking or storage tool. in addition to ceremonial use, bentwood boxes are now made frequently for the art market as works of fine art & sculptural pieces. Bentwood boxes made for the art market are typically, though not always, much smaller than boxes that would be made for practical or ceremonial use & portray individual designs rather than cultural or historical information. First Nations Sterling Bentwood Box 3D Earrings
