Accession Number

Cultural Group

Material

Process

Region

Field Collector

Other Owners

Acquired

PRM Source

Keyword

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Description

Wooden dish with flat rim and carved with formline animal designs on all sides. [CAK 12/08/2009]

Longer Description

Wooden dish with flat rim and carved with formline animal designs on all sides. Carved from a single piece of wood (alder or cedar?), the rim of the dish has a convex curvature along its long sides, while the ends are taller with a flat rim. On the inside of the bowl, tool marks are visible, indicating the bowl was hollowed out. There is also a ridge on the inside of the bowl, running half-way up the sides, and extending vertically on the ends. The exterior of the dish is carved with shallow, detailed formline designs. Faces are discernible on each end of the dish: there is a mouth near the base of each end-perhaps with beaks, a small round nose above, two very large eyes, and ears above the eyes. Each end also has two round circles above the eyes with a fine line underneath that may be frog faces. The designs on either end are very similar but not identical. The bodies for each face extend on either side of the bowl, meeting in the middle. The designs appear to be feather or wing-like, followed by sets of thin, parallel, horizontal lines. The grease originally held in the bowl has permeated the wood and is particularly visible on the bottom of the dish. [CAK 12/08/2009]

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 dish was viewed alongside other wood and horn dishes on Wednesday Sept 9, 2009. Delegates commented on how one end of the dish is blackened and thought it could have occurred when the dish was being warmed so that the grease inside it would become more liquid. Diane Brown thought the grease held in this dish could be cod oil. Nika Collison and Jaalen Edenshaw thought this had the same or similar eyes to bowl 1891.49.106 and that it had similar triangular shapes as 1891.49.105. [CAK 27/05/2010]

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 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]