Listen to audio content on the Haida totem pole. The player on the left gives general information on the totem; the one on the right is Haida carver Christian White talking about how the pole was made.
This wonderful helmet featuring a bear and an octopus, with human faces caught in the tentacles of the latter, was probably made for inter-group warfare. Nothing is known about its maker or origins. It was in General Pitt Rivers’ own collection by 1878. The three-dimensional image on the left allows us to see the carving strokes on the inside of the helmet, as well as details of the creatures and formline design on the outside.
Find out more about how the Pitt Rivers and delegates from the Haida First Nation worked together to recreate original carving techniques and learn more about the objects in the process
