Northwest Coast pigment grinding stones, mortars, paint dishes, templates, brushes and paint tool storage containers
An incredible array of the kinds of objects created for painting. That many of these objects are ornamented indicates the importance of tools, and materials to NW Coast artists. These objects were often used for a lifetime then handed down to an apprentice or family member and put into use again. There are also those objects that show the creativity of adapting naturally occurring shapes for use as functional objects.
Look closely at some of these beautiful tools: would you go to the trouble of intricately carving a paint brush, trading for porcupine guard hairs from outside your region, selecting the best hairs, gathering and splitting spruce root, and finally, lashing the porcupine hairs to the brush in an elegant woven pattern? What does it tell you about that person, and about his regard for his tools and craft?
Look closely at some of these beautiful tools: would you go to the trouble of intricately carving a paint brush, trading for porcupine guard hairs from outside your region, selecting the best hairs, gathering and splitting spruce root, and finally, lashing the porcupine hairs to the brush in an elegant woven pattern? What does it tell you about that person, and about his regard for his tools and craft?
