Lunar Eclipse Moon Mask
Cecil Dawson ''Lunar Eclipse'' Mask
NOS 1 of a kind, Beautiful, original and signed 9 inches high by 7.5 inch wide and 4.75 inch deep with his depiction of ''Lunar Eclipse'' in the style of the Kwakuitl nation .
This beautiful approx. late 80's cedar ceremonial mask is signed by Hereditary Chief and artist Cecil Dawson. Cecil only ever makes one of a kind pieces and never makes the same one twice.
The Moon is associated with transformation since it controls the tides and illuminates the dark. It is seen as a guardian spirit.
The Nuu-chah-nulth whose year features thirteen Moons, honour Moon, and his wife Sun, as the most powerful of beings, the bringer of good luck and plentiful food. This is one of the instances in which Moon is male and Sun is female. Moon's facial expression is more delicate and serene than Sun.
Wood Carver, Painter, First Nations, Pryrographic Woodburner
Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada • Kwakuitl Nation
Born into a family of artists, Cecil Dawson began his artistic career at a very young age. His grandfather Jimmy Dick, a totem and mask carver, taught Cecil the intricacies of carving. Cecil also spent time under the tutelage of his cousin, mask carver Simon Dick. Other masters who influenced Cecil's artistic gifts were his great uncles Willie Seaweed, Henry Speck, and Dick Hawkins.
Cecil is from the Kwakwaka'wakw First Nation. His father is head chief of the Mountain Goat Hunter clan and his mother comes from the Wolf clan. Cecil's cultural involvement is important to him; he is a historian and an initiated Hamatsa dancer.
Cecil's great labour of love is to replicate his family's masks and bring them back into ceremonial use once again. By doing so, he honours his cultural and traditional values. Cecil has a strong sense of propriety and will not copy from a book. His pieces are unique and to his own style, demonstrating a deeply rooted understanding of his culture.