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Description

Horn ladle with an incised eagle on the underside. [CAK 01/06/2010]

Longer Description

Horn ladle with an incised eagle on the underside. The ladle or large spoon is made from a single piece of horn, possibly from a cow. The handle is a dark colour, while the end of the bowl is a much lighter yellow colour. It is possible that this ladle is missing a longer handle, which would have been nailed on to the stem of the spoon. There are two perforations at the top of the stem. The bowl comes to a point at the front. The underside of the spoon is incised with an image of an eagle with head turned to one side, large wings, torso, talons on either side and tail feathers at the bottom. [CAK 01/06/2010]

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 spoon was viewed alongside other horn and wood spoons on Wednesday Sept 9, 2009. A lot of delegates were not fond of this spoon. They said it was unusual to have an image incised on the underside of a spoon. Jaalen Edenshaw and Gwaai Edenshaw described it as a bit of a joke spoon. Delegates commented that the carving was not as fine as on other spoons in the collection. Some shallow relief carving was identified around the upper eye lid and on the wings on either side of the body which is a common style of carving. Delegates questioned if the material was cow horn, rather than mountain goat or mountain sheep horn. One suggestion was that the image was of an eagle with a human torso. Lucille Bell commented that the design of the eagle suggests the spoon was made after the arrival of coins on the west coast. She added that her grandmother had a button blanket and a bracelet with eagle designs in a similar style. [CAK 01/06/2010]

Primary Documentation

Accession book entry (for 1891.49.57 - .61): 'From Rev. Ch. Harrison, 80 Halton Rd, Canonbury Sq. N. Collection of Haida objects collected by him.... - [1 of] 5 horn ladles. £45. [Purchase price includes 1891.49.1-110]

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

Written on object - HAIDA. C. HARRISON COLLN. PURCHASED 1891 [El.B 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 20/3/2006]

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]

Item History

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