Aboriginal art dealer Donald Ellis has edited the fascinating story of how Tsimshian ceremonial art objects, removed from Old Metlakatla by Scottish missionary Robert J. Dundas in 1863, were eventually brought back to Prince Rupert for display in May of 2007, after setting a record price for First Nations art of $7 million U.S. at an auction at Southeby's in 2006. Originally acquired for an unspecified price from the missionary William Duncan, the so-called Dundas Collection remained in the Dundas family's "cabinet of curiosities, along with a 250,000 diary, for more than a century. As outlined in Tsimshian Treasures: The Remarkable Journey of the Dundas Collection (D&M $55), featuring 72 colour plates, Canadian institutions and collectors have recently purchased most of the major items for $6 million U.S.

[BCBW 2008] "First Nations"

Review of the author's work by BC Studies:
Tsimshian Treasures: The Remarkable Journey of the Dundas Collection