The paint is black.

Decorated cradles like this one were used only by nobility, and the designs were probably valued family crests. This design represents a whale on the long sides and a copper on the back of the headboard. The whole surface is carved in low relief and painted in black, orange, yellow, red, white, and green on a blue ground. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

This forehead mask represents Kolus, a white down-covered thunderbird. It was carved by Willie Seaweed for his son, Joe, to use during the Great Dance of the Tlasula. Joe Seaweed received the privilege of performing this masked dance from his mother, Alice, who had it as part of her dowry.

Northern wooden spoons are typically carved from a section of a small tree, using almost the entire cylinder of the wood. The shallow S-profile of the spoon runs through the block in such a way that the center of the tree is visible at two places in the spoon, once in the bowl near the tip and again at the base of the handle. This means that the wood grain at the tip and in the handle lies at an angle to the spoon's surface; when it is carved very thin, as here, the spoon is quite fragile. This spooon is one of three in the collection of the Burke Museum. Lieutenant George Emmons, who collected this spoon, identified the creature on it as a petrel. (Holm, Spirit and Ancestor, 1987)

This dish exemplifies the extravagance of Kwakwaka'wakw ceremonial utensils. A typical feast dish, it is conceived of as a large sculptured animal, in this case a wolf, hollowed to receive the food it is to serve. Dishes of this sort belonged to the owner of a house and were accounted for in the origin myths of the family. They were highly valued and used only on occasions of great feasts. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

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

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

Throughout the Northwest Coast, the raven takes a prominent place in mythology and art. It is important to note, however, that these representations are not all of the same mythical being. This mask depicts Gwagwakhwalanooksiwey, the man-eating raven who lives with the cannibal spirit in his great house in the mountains or at the north end of the world. An unusual feature distinguishes this particular raven mask. Typically, hamatsa masks of the early twentieth century are painted black with white eyesockets and red lips and nostrils. The use of orange paint and green paint around the eyes is known but rather uncommon. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

Perhaps an example of the heyhliwey, or taming forehead mask, this small raven mask is an example of the restrained, sensitively designed hamatsa masks of the 1880s. The wearing of the heyhliwey on the forehead of the hamatsa's wife or sister is done during the last quiet dance of the hamatsa, and is said to symbolize the fact that the cannibal masks have been put in their places and the wildness of the hamatsa himself has been removed. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

The function of this small figure is uncertain, but the tenon at its base and its resemblance to other figures suggest it was probably attached to the top of a mask. Some of these are jointed and can be made to move and gesture. The little man sits with upraised arms, one of which is a recent replacement. The entire figure except this arm is painted white with detail in black and red. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)