First Nations Native Steel Cut Raven With Berry

Attention US Customers: due to the ongoing tariff situation between the USA & Canada, you may be invoiced up to 10% by UPS & the US government for imported Canadian goods This is a minimalist & sleek 'Raven' standalone sculpture that measures 11 inches tall by 21 inches long. It has been designed by British Columbian First Nations artist Noel Brown in collaboration with metalworker Jack Willoughby & the Raven is depicted holding a berry: a symbol of ravens' playful nature & an allusion to the 'Raven Stealing the Light' legend. This piece is made here in BC. Many Nations along the Northwest Coast of British Columbia share this story, though details will vary between families, communities, & Nations. At the beginning of time, the whole world was shrouded in darkness. All the world's light was being kept inside of a bentwood box by an old man living in with his daughter in a large house. The man kept the light as his most prized treasure, & other beings in the world - like Raven - were not pleased with the difficulty of fumbling around in constant darkness. The man's daughter would go to the river each day to gather drinking water, & when Raven had decided to remedy the situation, he transformed himself into a hemlock needle & dropped into the river just as the woman was gathering water. When she took a drink of water, Raven as hemlock needle slipped inside her mouth. Raven then transformed again into the form of a child & slept for some time. When Raven was born of the woman in child form, he had strange features; a beak like nose, & feathers sprouting from his body. in the darkness, however, his 'grandfather' could not see these markers. Raven began begging the man to play with his prized bentwood box & the light kept within. The man initially refused, but the Raven Child was insistent & cried & wailed until the man acquiesced. The man opened the box & produced from within a warm glowing orb which he tossed to the Raven Child. While this was happening, Raven transformed back into his true form to catch the orb. Once the orb was in Raven's mouth, he flew through the smoke hole & took the light up into the cosmos where it remains today. in some versions of this story, the Raven drops some of the light & scatters the stars across the sky or drops the light chipping a piece off & giving us the moon. First Nations Native Steel Cut Raven With Berry