Native artifacts return to B.C.
Dundas collection pieces bought at U.S. auction to tour Canada starting on West Coast
Jim Gibson , Times Colonist
Published: Wednesday, January 10, 2007A collection of significant First Nations artifacts purchased at a New York auction last fall, largely by Canadians, is coming to B.C. for exhibition this spring.
Individual Canadians -- including one Victoria woman -- and Gatineau, Que.'s Museum of Civilization accounted for $6.6 million of the $7 million US the famed Dundas collection brought at auction.
Gallery: Native artifacts featured in the Dundas collection
This Dundas collection artifact is among the First Nations carvings that were purchased in New York. The pieces will be displayed on a cross-Canada tour.
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The New York acquisitions are at the Royal B.C. Museum being prepared for a national tour that starts in March at Prince Rupert. and is in Victoria April 27 to July 4. It was near Prince Rupert that Rev. Robert James Dundas acquired the artifacts in 1863 and took them back to England.
The nine owners agreed that First Nations people in Tsimshian territory would be the first to view the collection, according to the museum's Diane Dakers. Until then, media photographers are not even allowed to take pictures of the 36 artifacts, which are insured for $8 million.
The exhibition is co-ordinated by both the museum and Donald Ellis, an Ontario-based First Nations artifacts dealer. The significance of the Dundas collection, according to Ellis, is that "it's the last known field collection in private hands." He had seen it several times in Britain, where it was scattered unprotected about the heir's house. At times, children had even used some of the artifacts as toys.
There was concern that the historically significant collection would be widely dispersed at auction, with much of it lost to Canadians.
Canadians should not expect only governments to preserve our cultural heritage, Ellis said yesterday.
"If you're serious about cultural patrimony, we need to participate as individuals and not just governments," Ellis said in a phone interview from New York.
Among the individuals purchasing works was Toronto's David Thomson, whose father Lord Thomson was a high-profile collector and donor of artworks until his death last year.
Thomson and cousin Sherry Brydson of Victoria reportedly combined on an estimated $5 million US in purchases at the New York auction. Among them was the significant Tsimshian mask for $1.8 million US.
Canada needs more individuals such as these people to safeguard its culture, Ellis said. He believes the potential exists for more citizens to become involved as "an extraordinary amount of wealth has been created in Canada in the last 10 years."
