Good Luck totems by Eli Tait and Clyde Boyd: |
Eli Tait |
Clyde Boyd |
One significant difference is that Boyd always used a white undercoat on the eagle's chest; while Tait very rarely did so. The Eli Tait versions are considerably smaller; around 6" tall and only 1" wide, while Boyd's is 8" and nearly 2" wide; but other than that, the similarities are striking. Although twice as large, the Boyd Bear displays very similar stippling, following the body contours. The teeth are triangular on Boyd's bear. There are minor differences in the paws; Boyd's are tilted more to the front, with more space devoted to the claws, which have two-tone paint; these faces show tiny slash-marks on the cheeks, but are not carved in as Tait's are, and their eyes are less detailed. The wings on Boyd's totem have been carved after painting; only a few know Taits are done this way, but it is interesting that on one of these the wings also show five vertical cuts rather than Tait's usual four (The "sad" one, shown below); the Boyd also has five. Note that the Boyd lacks the squared-off section at the base of the pole itself, which is present on all Tait poles. Notable similarities also exist in the painting of the salmon, and in the whimsical expression on the chest of the eagle. The legs on Boyd's eagle do not show the pattern of nine dots that are always present on Tait's Good Luck poles. |
Sad "Good Luck" totem by Eli Tait; wing detail |
