Desk Box Round

Medium round desk box with pewter design atop resin composite box

This Desk Box is made from a composite material that simulates the look and feel of argillite. This composite is a faithful Reproduction of the material usually used in the original carving. Argillite is a slate that is only found on a remote mountainside in the Slatechuck Valley of Graham Island on Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands). At the end of the 18th century, Haida carvers began to elaborately carve boxes exclusively in argillite to satisfy the demands of Victorian collectors who understood the rarity of the dense material. In this century argillite use has become cost prohibitive.