One of the unique technical achievements of Northwest Coast artisans was the bentwood box. Containers of many sizes were made by kerfing hand-made boards at carefully measured intervals and bending the boards at the steamed kerfs to form the continuous sides. The last corner joint and the bottom board were fastened by pegging or sewing. The plan of the box is nearly square, and two opposite sides are elaborately painted in red and black in the conventional style of box painting. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

The paint is red and black.

Spirit of the Ancestors-Late 18th century documents written by European explorers describe large bentwood box drums like this one. These deep bass percussion instruments were replaced by commercial bass drums brought by missionaries in the late 19th century. In 1996, David Boxley borrowed Bill Holm's box drum for a potlatch he hosted with the Seattle Tsimshian community at Indian Heritage High School. Boxley has since made several box drums for his own use, including this one.

The acrylic paint is black and red.

The acrylic paint is black, dark green, and green.

item is from the Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers founding collection

Rectangular wooden feast dish with carved decoration on the outside and inlaid along rim with otters' teeth or operculum shell. [MJD 24/08/2009]

Wooden bulge bowl carved with formline designs, some elements of which appear upside down. [CAK 17/08/2009]

Wooden bulge bowl, carved with formline designs, some of which appear to be upside down. [CAK 17/08/2009]

Wooden box [.1] with lid [.2] containing 56 wooden sticks [.3- .58] painted with various red and black designs for use in gambling games. [CAK 09/06/2009]