Spoon Item Number: A5312 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Spoon carved from one piece of mountain goat horn with an elongated bowl and a short handle with a bent finial, which is the tip of the horn. The spoon is light yellow-brown and dark brown, and is slightly translucent, but the tip is darker and rougher in 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)." 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)."

Item History

What

Name
Spoon
Identification Number
A5312
Type of Item
spoon
Material
mountain sheep horn
Manufacturing Technique
steamed, carved and shaped
Overall
height 13.5 cm, width 7.3 cm, depth 22.0 cm

Who

Culture
Coast Salish
Previous Owner
Walter C. Koerner
Received from
Walter C. Koerner (Donor)

Where

Holding Institution
MOA: University of British Columbia
Made in
British Columbia, Canada

When

Ownership Date
before January 1973
Acquisition Date
during January 1973

Other

Condition
good
Accession Number
0233/0003