Elegant carved dishes and delicate spoons like these were used on a daily basis. Their dark and greasy surface reveals their use for serving fish and sea mammal oils, which enhanced the flavor of dried fish and berries.

This Sculpin mask epitomizes the flamboyance of Kwakwaka'wakw theatrical sculpture. Jagged contours, bold, intertwined forms, and snapping, fanning, and waving appendages--all covered with contrasting and complex patterns of strong color--create creatures of startling fantasy. The subdued, wavering light of the dance house softens those contrasts amd unifies the forms. The sculpin swims to the rise and fall of its song in a sea of firelight and swirling eagle down. (Holm, Spirit and Ancestor, 1987)

The paint is red, white, black, and green.