Historic Canoe Paddles with a link to Chestnut Canoe Company

[Murat V]

Some rare paddles associated with the Chestnut Canoe Company are currently up for auction. Waddington's has a three canoe paddles made by Maliseet (Wolastoqiyik) carvers linked to William Chestnut and his wife, Ida.

One of the paddles is inscribed with William Chestnut's name along with some decorative etchings. It likely predates the formation of the canoe company and hung in the family cottage until recently.

https://bid.waddingtons.ca/auction-lot/unidentified-wolastoqiyik-maliseet-artist-paddle-_621467FA5B

Also in the collection are a double set of paddles that are inscribed with the name of William's wife, Ida and are inscribed with the dates 1898 and 1899

https://bid.waddingtons.ca/auction-lot/unidentified-wolastoqiyik-maliseet-artist-pair_D234461A41

I had the fortunate chance to view these in person this morning and they are exquisite.

 

[Benson Gray]

These look great and their history is impressive. I've not followed the paddle market closely but these prices seem high to me. Is an opening bid of CA$1,800 with an estimated range of CA$3,000 - CA$5,000 for the single and an opening bid of CA$9,000 with an estimated range of CA$15,000 - CA$25,000 for the pair consistent with prior sales of similar paddles?

Benson

 

[chris pearson]

Wow. That is a lot of money.

 

[Murat V]

Tough to judge prices in today's market. For context, other "woodland" style paddles from the New Brunswick area with minimal decorative etching have gone for between $1600 to 2500 US and that was back in 2011:
https://paddlemaking.blogspot.com/2011/01/more-woodland-auction-paddles.html

In 2015, an ornamented paddle with a fantastic history (dated to 1855) went for $5400 US:
https://paddlemaking.blogspot.com/2015/09/1855-penobscot-wedding-paddle.html

The pair of paddles in this auction are quite special in that they feature highly detailed double-curved motifs on the blade. They are etched with the the dates 1898 and 1899 on the reverse side. The majority of other confirmed Maliseet paddles tend to feature themed carvings of animals and/or hunting scenes. I'm aware of just 5 other Maliseet paddles with this style of decoration, all in museum collections. Most were donated or acquired back in 1930s. It isn't apparent from the photos provided, but both sides of these paddles are decorated with these motifs and feature completely different curved patterns on each side. Personally I think more time would've been spent etching the complex designs than actually carving the paddle.

 

[samb]

What is the technique for the decoration on these paddles?
I can see that some parts are cut in but the red lines appear to be on the surface.

Sam

 

[Murat V]

The surface off all three paddles are etched in shallow cuts. For the pair of matching paddles, the cuts were then filled with red ochre powder. This was a traditional method of decorating by the Wabanaki peoples. Here's a closeup I took on one of the shafts (7/8" wide for scale).

 

[samb]

Thanks Murat

 

[Rob Stevens]

This decorative techique is also known as "kolrosing".
"Kolrosing is a very old Scandinavian decorative craft whereby wood is basically tattooed. Unlike carving or engraving no material is removed from the piece, rather, a fine cut is made straight into the wood and some darker material is rubbed into the cut, leaving the cuts nicely darkened."

 

[Andre Cloutier]

Plus a lovely 28% buyers premium.