A Haida silver bracelet attributed to Charles EdenshawA Haida silver braceletAttributed to Charles Edenshaw, Da.a xiigang, (1839-1920), depicting a dogfish, aligning a central face within the split-image body, defined by precise formline elements set against a finely hachured ground, distinctive secondary ovoid faces populating the fins and flukes, a single wide hook clasp for closure at the terminals.approximate weight 37.8 g; inner circumference 7in, greatest width of cuff approximately 1 1/2in ProvenanceDonald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal GCMG GCVO PC DL FRS, (1820-1914), thence by descent through the family. While the specific details of how and when the present lot was acquired is no longer known, the life and history of Lord Strathcona is inextricably intertwined with that of the Hudson Bay Company, as with the greater history of nineteenth and early twentieth century Canada and the British Empire. The dogfish shark is a clan crest of the lineage of Edenshaw's wife Isabella, and was a recurring theme in his artwork, including bracelets. For a comparative analysis of characteristic design elements between the present lot and known works by Edenshaw, see Holm, Bill, "Will the Real Charles Edenshaw Please Stand Up?: The Problem of Attribution in Northwest Coast Indian Art", pp. 81-89, an essay originally written in 1981 (utilizing an earlier spelling of the artist's last name) and reprinted in Charles Edenshaw, 2013, Black Dog Publishing/Vancouver Art Gallery, London, published in conjunction with the 2014 exhibition of the same title. One feature that the author considers are so-called "salmon trout heads" or stylized face ovoids. In particular, the distinctive salmon trout heads found on the flukes of the dogfish in the present lot are strikingly similar to examples presented by Holm (p. 86, fig. 70). Other close variants of the salmon trout head can be seen in Charles Edenshaw's argillite carvings, including a platter in the collection of the Museum of Vancouver (object AA 49), (Ibid., p. 106, fig. 104); and the lid of a chest in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution (object E274593), (Ibid., pp. 188-189, fig. 217.)