Bowl

Item number 1891.49.95 from the Pitt Rivers Museum.

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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]

Longer 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]

Publications History

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]

Research Notes

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]

Primary Documentation

Accession book entry (for 1891.49.94 - .107): 'From Rev. Ch. Harrison, 80 Halton Rd, Canonbury Sq. N. Collection of Haida objects collected by him.... - [One of] 14 Carved wooden grease boxes of various sizes.' Additional accession book entry: 'Bowl carved in bird form (labelled as box). £45. [Purchase price includes 1891.49.1-110]

No additional information on catalogue cards. [JC 4 9 1996]

Written on object - BOX FOR GREASE AND BERRIES. HAIDA. C.HARRISON COLLN. PURCHASED 1891. [CAK 05/05/2009]

Related Documents File - The Haida Project Related Documents File contains video of research sessions and interviews with Haida delegates from September 2009 as part of the project ‘Haida Material Culture in British Museums: Generating New Forms of Knowledge'. It also includes post-visit communications that discuss object provenance. For extensive photographic, video, and textual records documenting the Haida research visit as a whole, including but not limited to preparations of objects for handling, travel logistics, British Museum participation, transcribed notes from research sessions and associated public events held at PRM, see the Haida Project Digital Archive, stored with the Accessions Registers. Original hand-written notes taken during research sessions have been accessioned into the Manuscripts collection, in addition to select other materials. [CAK 02/06/2010]