The Eagle's Nest Sculpture (Tlingit)

Occasionally, one encounters a carving so odd and creative that it defies classification, even in such a broad category as "model totem", and this piece is a great example of that phenomenon. Regardless of the horizontal orientation of the carving, this piece is quintessentially 1930s Tlingit sculpture, and can be understood as such. It is constructed out of three pieces of red cedar: the base, the six eaglets (all one piece), and the central eagle figure. It is a designing feat that the eaglets are all one piece of wood, and interlock with the larger, central eagle. On the back the stamp reads "THE NUGGET SHOP, Inc. -CURIOS-, Juneau, Alaska, GUARANTEED INDIAN MADE". Hand written on the back is a stylized "m" that I think is from a collector, and the date 1936. There is a groove on the bottom of the totem that was used to center and space the eagles above. The paint is really nice on this piece, and there is a lot of little details in the carving of the wings and the open work in the mouth of the central eagle. 

It is from the Nugget Shop, an iconic Alaskan curio shop that was located in Juneau and was open from 1913 to, I believe, the 1950s. Known producers for the Nugget Shop include James Rudolph, Willie Marks, Jim Marks Sr, Peter Marks, Steve Perrin Sr, Ed Kunz Sr, and Leo Jacobs Sr. The later pieces from the shop have an oval velvety sticker that was used, which was black with raised gold lettering and a thunderbird totem centered on it. These stickers are about the size of a nickel. Nugget Shop pieces are very collectible.

This piece is Tlingit, and is in the style of the Auke Bay/Juneau Tlingit, and was produced locally for the Nugget Shop. This specific hand was known to have produced other model totem poles as well as at least one full size piece for the Nugget Shop, generally in a "Rudolph" family style, and was most likely James Rudolph's carver brother, John Rudolph. The pronounced yellow beaks of the eagles, and particularly the cell-like formation of the feathers (see detail photo) reveal it's affinity with the Rudolph style of carving.