Spoon

Item number A8108 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Description

Mountain sheep horn spoon with elongated bowl and short up-turned handle with squared end. The recessed area of the bowl is pear-shaped. Spoon is a translucent yellowish-brown colour with dark brown edges and handle. The exterior has a rough texture.

History Of Use

Along the Northwest Coast, in general, undecorated spoons of wood and horn were used in everyday life, while more elaborately carved versions were used on special occassions. Horn spoons were often passed down in families as heirlooms, such spoons are generally darker in colour than those of recent manufacture. The bowls of these spoons are too large to place in the mouth, so food is sipped from the sides or the end.

Cultural Context

household utensil; domestic

Specific Techniques

Bill Holm notes that: "The horn spoon whether from the massive, spiral horn of the mountain sheep or the slim, black, dagger-like horn of the mountain goat, is cut from the partially hollow curved material and brought to its final form by spreading the bowl and bending the handle (1987:90)." While Philip Drucker notes that: "horn of both mountain sheep and mountain goat was used for various purposes, after being softened in boiling water to permit shaping and molding (1955:51)."