An important collection of early works by Haida artist Bill Reid has been gifted to the UBC Museum of Anthropology.

The donation includes 11 pieces of gold and silver jewellery, valued at $500,000, that were created over a 20-year period. The pieces were created for Sydney Friedman and his late wife Constance Livingstone-Friedman, who were longstanding UBC professors and early patrons of the artist.

The collection includes a gold bracelet shaped like a raven, with cut out wings and features; a gold brooch with matching earrings; a silver bracelet with an eagle motif; and a silver picture frame engraved with a bear motif. The works were made between 1954 and 1974.

“My wife cherished wearing these beautiful pieces by our friend Bill, and wanted the greater community to enjoy them,” said Friedman, in a news release. “I am very proud to make this gift, because it honours one of Constance’s dearest wishes, and because it also reflects our deep history with UBC.”

“This collection has outstanding significance, not only as a representation of Bill Reid’s extraordinary early work—and the value of such material for the study of Canadian art history—but also in encompassing one collector-family’s relationship with the artist over a 20-year period,” said MOA curator Bill McLennan, in a news release.

The newly donated works are on display in the MOA’s Bill Reid rotunda, starting today. Only two of the pieces have previously been exhibited. The donated works bring the number of Bill Reid pieces in the MOA collection to 250.

Two other objects donated by the Friedmans—a print by Reid and a historical Northwest Coast bracelet by an unknown artist—will be on display later this year.