The nail is metal. The string is cotton.

The four figures on this spoon appear to be a sea bear with a man astride his dorsal fin, plus two more bears. Early spoons of this type appear not to have been polished since they retain the marks of the carving tool and the very crisp corners and planes that result from finishing with the tool. The handle and bowl are black streaked with gray and brown, the natural color of the horn. The bowl has been fitted into the hollow at the base of the carved handle and fastened in place with two rivets. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

This ladle is one of a pair of ladles in the collection of the Burke Museum. Ladles with figures of mythical creatures carved on their handles, such as this one, are used to distribute food from feast dishes. The Sisioohl head is conceived as an extension of the handle, bent back upon itself and joined to the neck of the spoon. Attached to the nose and curling up over it like a tongue, is a small copper. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

The wool cloth is red. The velvet is black. The cotton cloth is plaid.

Engraving tool. Flat rectangular file is squared at one end and handle-like at the other with cross hatching covering half of the outer surface.

Engraving tool. Steel piece with rectangular cross-section narrows to a point at one end, with a serious of horizontal striations near the tip.