PEETZ 2016 Artist Series Reel Chosen as Victoria’s Gift to the Royals

Recently, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, made a visit to Victoria BC. To commemorate that visit, the Victoria branch of the Monarchist League of Canada decided to gift the Royals one of PEETZ’s handcarved Artist Series reels.

The reel of choice was our 2016 Chain of Life Artist Series reel design, the “Orca, Salmon & Moon”, which was handmade by the PEETZ craftsmen and handcarved by our partnered Kwagiulth artist, Jason Henry Hunt. The reel (pictured below) will be kept in the Kensington Palace Collections in London.

This reel, gifted dually by PEETZ and Jason Henry Hunt, is yet another gift the renown Hunt family of First Nations artists has given to the Royal Family. In 1958, Queen Elizabeth II made a similar visit to Victoria in honour of British Columbia’s Centennial celebration. During that visit, Jason’s grandfather, Henry Hunt, and his great-grandfather, Chief Mungo Martin of the Kwagiulth First Nation, gifted a handcarved totem pole to the Royal Family. That pole still stands a massive 30-metres high in the Windsor Great Park of England.

Jason Henry Hunt’s Grandparents, Henry & Helen Hunt, meeting Queen Elizabeth in 1958.

Being able to provide this gift is not only a source of pride for PEETZ and Jason, but a symbolically significant moment for the recognition of Vancouver Island’s salmon conservation initiatives. Each Chain of Life yearly limited edition design aims to depict how important a healthy salmon stock is for Vancouver Island’s ecosystems, and each year 6 handcarved Artist Proof reels are submitted for auction, the proceeds of which raise thousands for the Pacific Salmon Foundation. This year’s design depicts an orca on the hunt for a salmon under a moon of abalone.

Part of the Royal’s visit consisted of a fishing trip up along the island’s coasts. As such, the Monarchist League of Canada found a PEETZ handcarved reel to be the most appropriate gift to commemorate their visit.