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Description

This small spoon features a bird and killer whale design. A wood spoon with a bowl painted in a black, red and green design and a straight, outward angled, cylindrical handle that has three horizontal red bands across the lower portion. The bowl of the spoon has a design that consists of an open beaked bird design. The bird has a black circle in circle eye outlined by green with a red crescent shape behind it, all of which is surrounded by a black ovoid. The black outlined beak has a red and green nostril. The open mouth is outlined by red and has a black dashed w-line emanating from it. Behind the head, there is a black ovoid in ovoid from which two black outlined u forms extend that have red and green dots within. The circular black claw has three digits. The tip of the bowl of the spoon is red.

Narrative

Said to have been collected by Donald MacKay while he was the Indian Commissioner for BC, 1937-1948. Other examples of spoons like this can be found in the Museum of Vancouver's collection. The paint colors and looseness of the design are characteristic of James’ two-dimensional work. This spoon could also be a collaboration between James and his granddaughter, Ellen Neel, when she was young. Further examples of similar work can be found in Nuytten’s The Totem Carvers: Charlie James, Ellen Neel, and Mungo Martin (1982) and Ronald Hawker’s Yakuglas’ Legacy (2016).