1933.87.15

Collection type

Object

Description

Wooden spoon with painted 'eye' designs in black and red pigment. [EC 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 13/3/2006]

Long description

Wooden spoon with painted 'eye' designs in black and red pigment. The spoon is carved from a single piece of wood. The bowl measures 10 mm at its tip (i.e. the front) and is 52 mm at its widest. Where it joins the handle it is 25 mm wide. The handle tapers toward its tip and has a curve to it. At its tip, the handle measures 12 mm. The spoon is decorated with red and black paint forming formline designs. The primary element of the design may represent an eye in black, or it may be a more abstract design. The red paint provides the secondary element of the design and this largely features straight parallel brush strokes that fill space. [CAK 06/04/2009]

Geographical reference

Canada

Northern America > North America > Canada

British Columbia Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) NW Coast

Cultural groups

Haida

Person

Field collector Unknown Collector

PRM source Stevens Auction Rooms

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1933

Date collected

By 1933

Acquisition information

Purchased: 1933

Materials and processes

Material Wood Plant, Material Pigment, Process Painted, Process Carved

Dimensions

Length: max 177 mm, Width: max 52 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 1933.87.15

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 spoon was viewed alongside other horn and wood spoons on Wednesday Sept 9, 2009. It is part of a set with 1933.87.16. Delegates believed this spoon was ornamental, and was made for sale (particularly to tourists) rather than used. Delegates did not think spoon such as these would have been traded between First Nations. Candace Weir wondered if the pair of spoons were for siblings. She said that if she were getting spoons for her daughters, she would get them a set like these. Delegates identified the spoons as Haida because of the red dashing pattern, eye design and shape. The eyes were thought to be raven eye designs. The red dashing could indicate the spoon is from Massett as this kind of dashing appears on a lot of boxes and paddles from Massett. The material was identified as alder wood by Christian White. Gaahlaay (Lonnie Young) also thought crab apple was a possibility. [CAK 18/03/2010]

A nearly identical formline design can be seen on spoon 1933.87.16. The main difference is the area to the 'front' of the black eye/ovoid: 1933.87.16 has red cross hatching in this area. [CAK 06/04/2009]

Search terms: Food and Drink, Trade, Spoon, Food Accessory