Accession Number

Cultural Group

Material

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Other Owners

Acquired

PRM Source

Dimension

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Description

Wooden bulge bowl, carved with formline designs, some of which appear to be upside down. [CAK 17/08/2009]

Display History

Put on permanent display (with 1891.49.97) in 'Rank, Status And Prestige On The Northwest Coast Of America' in 1996, with the following caption: 'Grease Boxes. Haida. Queen Charlotte Islands. The sides of such boxes are made from a single wooden plank bent around three corners, the fourth being made by sewing the two ends together. Both these boxes are incised with an expanding design representing the Beaver, probably the owner's crest. Collected by Rev. Charles Harrison, a missionary at Masset. Purchased from him in 1891.' [JC 5 9 1996]

Longer Description

Wooden bulge bowl with bulging sides, carved with formline designs, some of which appear to be upside down. [CAK 17/08/2009]
Small box with intricately carved and incised curvilinear images appearing on all four exterior walls. The box is constructed of four walls with curved rims nailed to a flat rectangular shaped base. The gap between the walls and the base has been sealed with cotton cloth. One corner of the box has been stitched together with sinew; this appears have been a native repair. The entire box is coated with a greasy film which yields a polished appearance. [NM 3/96]
Note the stitching is not a repair but rather a means for joining the the two ends of the bent plank. The cotton textile between the sides and base of the box is an unusual feature not seen in the other grease dishes in the collection [CAK 17/08/2009]

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. £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 coll. Purchased 1891.' [NM 3/96]

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]

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 horn and wood dishes on Wednesday Sept 9, 2009. Delegates identified the material of the box as red cedar. Gaahlaay (Lonnie Young) referred to it as a bulge bowl, clarifying that it is not a box. It would be used to hold grease made from seal oil or whale oil, or could be used as a cooking pot in which water, food and hot rocks would be placed. He observed that there is a gasket to seal the container. He further identified the material plugging the gaps as cedar bark, which would make the vessel watertight. He noted that the corner and the bottom are stitched with sinew. Gaahlaay commented that the design of the vessel includes a bird shape, and that the signature of the artist is found on one end. Nika Collison and Billy Yovanovich were both interested in the ends of the bowl, and observed that the eye designs on the two ends are carved upside down, but apparently intentionally so. Nika noted that the longer sides have carvings in the expected, upright orientation. Billy compared this vessel to 1891.49.97, in which two of the sides have upside down designs, and two upright or 'normal' designs. Christian White characterised the shape of this bowl and 1891.49.97 as canoe-shaped. He identified a bird head design and salmon head elements within the designs on the bowl. Christian provided the Haida word for grease: taaw. [CAK 13/05/2010]