25 1/2" x 19 1/2"

Unnumbered but from an edition of 75. Signed and dated.

1970

"This box is an original composition based on the blending of forms found on other boxes. I did a lot of copies of bentbox designs and I encourage apprentices to copy designs from the old masters until they can start to interpret their own designs"

Sea Bear Box Back introduces the figure of Kugann Jaad, or Mouse Woman, who is rendered upside down in the belly of the sea bear, pushing the dividing line between head and body upwards. Kugann Jaad is a common design element in Haida box painting. She appears in numerous Haida narratives as an intermediary assisting the human world with meddling from the supernatural realm. 

"In one of Wilson Duff’s lectures he talked about Kugann and referred to her as Mighty Mouse. In all of the studying I have done of bentwood box-es, Kugann jumps in there somewhere, and so I think of her as the spirit of the box design."

- Robert Davidson

Wyatt, Gary, and Robert Davidson. Echoes of the Supernatural: The Graphic Art of Robert Davidson. Figure 1 Publishing, 2022.