1891.49.95

Collection type

Object

Description

Circular wooden bowl carved with a bird's head extending from the rim on one side and tail feathers extending on the other. [CAK 12/08/2009]

Long description

Circular wooden bowl carved with a bird's head extending from the rim on one side and tail feathers extending on the other. Carved from a single piece of alder wood, the base of the bowl is oval and flat. The bowl widens out to its rim. The exterior of the bowl has faint incised markings: organic lines of short, parallel notches. Just below the rim is a groove that runs from head to tail feathers. The head of the bird is carved with a round eye and bill. Its neck extends from the body of the bowl. Three lines are incised on the inside of the rim, coming together to a point behind the bird's head. The tail feathers are carved as a rectangular segment with grooves. The grease originally held in the bowl has permeated the wood and is particularly visible on the bottom of the bowl and the bill of the bird. There is some bird down stuck to the inside of the bowl, but it is unclear if this is pre- or post-collection. [CAK 12/08/2009]

Geographical reference

Canada

Northern America > North America > Canada

British Columbia Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) NW Coast

Cultural groups

Haida

Person

Field collector Charles Harrison

PRM source Charles Harrison

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1882-1890

Date collected

Between 1882 and 1890 ?

Acquisition information

Purchased: 02/03/1891

Materials and processes

Material Wood Plant, Material Bird Feather, Process Carved

Dimensions

Width: max 170 mm, Length: max 285 mm, Height: max 95 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 1891.49.95

Research and responses

The following information comes from Haida delegates who worked with the museum’s collection in September 2009 as part of the project “Haida Material Culture in British Museums: Generating New Forms of Knowledge”:

This wooden dish was viewed alongside other wood and horn dishes on Wednesday Sept 9, 2009. Christian White believed the bird figure to be a sea bird, possibly a Common Loon. [CAK 13/05/2010]

The feathery remnants stuck to the bowl may be eagle down, a material used in Haida dancing. [CAK 05/05/2009]

Associated publications

Reproduced in black and white as figure 19 on page 9 of 'Haida Art in the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, and the Rev. Charles Harrison', by June Bedford, in European Review of Native American Studies, Vol. XII, no. 2 (1998), pp. 1-10. Caption reads: 'Wooden bird-shaped bowl.' [JC 16 4 1999]

Search terms: Vessel, Food and Drink, Figure, Bowl, Bird Figure, Food Accessory