Accession Number

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Material

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Acquired

PRM Source

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Description

Wooden ladle with an ovate bowl and a straight handle carved with a raven. [CAK 16/03/2010]

Longer Description

Wooden ladle with an ovate bowl and a straight handle carved with a raven. The spoon is carved from a single piece of red cedar wood. The spoon is smooth and curved. The middle portion of the handle is flat on the top portion, incised lengthwise with two lines, and rounded on the reverse. The middle portion of the handle joins a top, wider portion of the handle carved to represent a bird. It resembles a raven as the beak is straight. The talons, breast/wings of the bird, its eyes, 'ears' and beak are decorated with formline designs. The reverse of the body of the raven is smooth and slightly convex, while the reverse of the head is smooth and deeply concave. There is a darkish stain near one of the talons. The bowl is 67 mm at its widest; the middle handle is 20 mm wide and the raven is 85 mm at its widest. When laying flat, the spoon has a maximum height of 25 mm. [CAK 17/04/2009]

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 spoon was viewed alongside other horn and wood spoons on Wednesday Sept 9, 2009. Delegates did not think this spoon looked particularly like a Haida spoon. They thought it was more southern in style. They wondered if it was a trade item, made as tourist art or had been misidentified. It was thought that it was just ornamental, and not for eating. It was also said to be quite roughly made. The material was identified as red cedar wood. [CAK 16/03/2010]

Primary Documentation

Accession Book Entry - 'WELLCOME HISTORICAL MEDICAL MUSEUM, 28 PORTMAN SQUARE, LONDON, W.1...1951.6.55 NORTH AMERICA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, HAIDA INDIANS. Wooden ladle with straight handle carved with bird (?raven). Total length 37.3 cm. (58791)

There is no further information on the catalogue card. [CW 11 6 98]

Pre-PRM label [glued to object] - 72. [EC 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 14/3/2006]

Written on object [in pencil] - 2 00

Written on object - HAIDA Gift of the Wellcome Historical Museum 1951.6.55 [EC 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 14/3/2006]

Related Documents File - Letter from E. Ashworth Underwood [Director, The Wellcome Historical Medical Museum] to T. K. Penniman dated 30 January, 1951, inviting the Pitt Rivers Museum to send a representative to select items from the Wellcome collection, housed temporarily at the British Museum. [GI 4/2/2002]

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]