Museum Purchase: Indian Collection Subscription Fund, Rasmussen Collection of Northwest Coast Indian Art.

Museum Expedition 1905, Museum Collection Fund

This is a hand adze composed of a carved wood handle, bear shin bone blade and commercial twine wrapped around both to bind together. The wood handle iconography has the top of a wolf's head with the upper torsos of a pair of dancers wearing wolf masks. These masks usually come in pairs (See 08.491.8905a,b). According to Culin collecting records the bone blade replaced an iron blade (2908:84). According to Bill Holm, Northwest Coast specialist, the twine is commercial and unabraded which indicates the adze has never been used in this form. The handle shows a wear pattern of the hand that used it and is softly worn.

This spoon is in the soapberry form of a long, flat paddle with carved design on one end. The handle instead of being smoot like a soapberry spoon is fully carved. It was probably used to ladle out soapberry foam not to make it. Making soapberry foam is done by putting a few tablespoons of berries with a little water into a large bowl and twirling the spoon very quickly back and forth between the hands like making a fire or whisking. As the berries foam up sugar, more water, more berries may be added until it is extremely foamy. When eaten it is normally swooshed into the mouth quickly past the tongue, bypassing any bitter or sour flavor and down the throat for a great treat.

The object is a spindle whorl carved on one side with a salmon or whale design motif. The object is in good and stable condition with traces of black pigment in the detailed areas of the carving.

The object is a spindle whorl carved on one side with a human form surrounded by a two headed snake. There are traces of red pigment in the carved detail. There is a theory that carved spindle whorls, as opposed to plain whorls, were used for spining mountain goat wool, the material used to make ceremonial garments. The object is in good and stable condition with no splits or cracks in the wood. The hole in the center is slightly worn and a small section from the rim on the back is missing.