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Cultural Context

traditional art; domestic; ceremonial

Specific Techniques

Bowls were made from sheep horn by steaming or boiling, spreading and reshaping in a manner similar to how wood was steamed and bent (Wright 1991:93). Once this is done they can then be carved and decorated using conventional methods (Conn 1979:253).

History Of Use

Sheep horn bowls are highly treasured heirlooms among the people of the Northwest Coast. Bowls of this size were often used to hold food items such as fish oil or grease.

Description

Small oval-shaped bowl made from horn. The front and the back sides slope upwards from a small flat rectangular base. The sides are almost vertical and terminate in rectangular open work handles. One handle has four vertical rectanglar openings surmounted by three rounded triangles. The other handle has three vertical rectanglar openings surmounted by four rounded triangles. A series of incised horizontal zigzag and solid lines decorate the area around the rim (two horizontal bands at either side) and from each handle to the base and around the base (multiple bands from one handle down along the bottom and up to the other handle). The interior of the bowl has a scratched surface with a white inscription.

Narrative

This bowl was purchased from Sotheby's, New York in 1982; listed as a Wasco/Wishram sheep horn bowl. An inscription inside the bowl appears to read: H. Wise Astoria Or to Rev. J. B. 100 years old / 1894 from Chief Chennmus Shoalwater Bay Ind.

Iconographic Meaning

The incised zigzag lines are a typical decorative technique used on horn bowls. Robin Wright notes that these types of bowls are decorated with "rows of interlocking negative triangles with long concentric rectangles...This geometric style of carving, which spread from the Columbia drainage throughout the southern part of western Washington, is dramatically different from the curvilinear style of the central Coast Salish in the northern areas of what is now western Washington (1991:93)."