Does Anyone Know What This Native Carved Artifact is Called?

[cbotw27]

I got this in a lot at an auction. Anyone know where it is from and what it is called in that culture? Thanks so much for your help!

[thevintagesilvershop]

Looks Pacific NW or Alaskan. Maybe Athabaskan. Looks ceremonial. 

[sonomabarn67]

Pacific Northwest. ‎Timishian Haida or thereabouts. It would be a dance wand made of cedar I believe. It looks like the creator used an old piece of wood to carve this from and then painted it., so, a fake/repop/recreation, etc. They used proper materials but it has no proper age to it.

[all_fakes]

Yes, Northwest Coast Native; dance wand or dance paddle; looks pretty well-done, though one would expect a signature.

I wouldn't call it an artifact; it is just a piece of Northwest Coast Native art, though without a signature one can't be sure the maker was native.  I also wouldn't call it a fake or a replica; it is correctly done, and using the correct materials; unlike the imported fakes, made in the third world by non-natives, and imported to deceive.

[sonomabarn67]

Having not seen it in hand, I was just giving him options. Whenever I see fairly recent paint filling cracks in the wood, well, that's not how these wear, even on newer carvings unless using old wood to enhance an old-time feel to a piece. And like you said it could be native but without a sig...

[bluemando]

Sure; and I'd guess that it was probably made within the last 20 years or so.  A dance wand would have been used in the dances or ceremonies of the Kwakiutl, for example; though this one was almost certainly just made for sale, in a shop or gallery.  It is well done though, and if not native the carver has studied the art thoroughly, likely with native teachers.

It is pretty nice, as such things go.