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Description

Wooden feast dish with shells inlaid around the rim. The short sides are painted and carved with crest designs. [MJD 05/05/2009]

Longer Description

Wooden feast dish with shells inlaid around the rim. The short sides are painted and carved with crest designs. Carved from a single piece of wood, likely alder, the dish is rectangular in shape. The top of the short sides are curved while the long sides angle out slightly from the base of the bowl. The exterior of the long sides are plainly carved for the most part except for a series of thin parallel vertical grooves at each end with the very edges incised with short, horizontal lines. The exterior of the short sides of the bowl are carved with similar, but not identical, designs. On one short end, there is a split in the wood from the top of the dish. This side is decorated with an ear in each upper corner and two ovoid eye designs in the top centre. Two large ovoid eye designs are in the middle with a U-shaped area decorated with angled lines in the middle centre. The bottom portion of this short end is carved with a wide, short mouth design. The other short side has a similar design except there are triangles with horizontal lines between the small eye designs in the top centre, and the U-shape in the centre of the face has fewer angled lines. The top rim of the dish is inlaid with opercula shells. The rim overhangs the interior of the dish which is plainly carved. [CAK 27/05/2010]

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 bowl was viewed alongside other wood and horn dishes on Wednesday Sept 9, 2009. Gaahlaay (Lonnie Young) described this as a serving bowl for use with big spoons. Nika Collison described it as a feast dish. Diane Brown provided the Haida word for cross-hatching: maats'ilang. Gwaai Edenshaw and Jaalen Edenshaw thought the triangular elements on the cheeks were unusual and Nika Collison and Jaalen Edenshaw thought the triangular shapes carved on this bowl were similar to those found on 1891.49.103. [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. [MJD 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]

Item History

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