This feast dish is carved in the form of a stylized whale head with eyes and mouth indicated. Blow hole appears at top of snout. In the center there is an opening on which rests a projecting dorsal fin. The bottom of the dish has a leg for support on the right side; on the left side a pole shaped runner extends horizontally from the front of the body to the back fin.

This is a carved wooden bowl carved with Northwest formline design.

Gift of Mrs. Sutro

From card: "Very old." Ledger book identifies this as a horn dish. Catalogue card originally also identified it as horn, but this was later crossed out and changed to identify the piece as wood. However, it is indeed made of horn and so the object name has been corrected in this database.

FROM CARD: "9244-54. NOS. 9244, 9250 ILLUS. IN USNM REPT, 1895; FIGS. 34, 32; P. 394. 9244, 9248, 9252, 9253, 9254: THESE 5 SPECIMENS WERE LENT TO RENWICK "BOXES AND BOWLS" EXHIBITION ON 11-7-73. RETURNED 8-24-76. LOANED RENWICK 11-7-73. (SEE FRONT OF CARD). LOAN RETURNED 8-24-76." FROM CARD: "WOOD; CARVED IN RELIEF. TRANSFERRED FROM ARMY MEDICAL MUSEUM IN 1870. LOANED RENWICK 11-7-73. LOAN RETURNED 8-24-76."

Provenience note: E130624 - 6 were all collected in the summer of 1888 on the cruise of the U.S. Fish Commission steamer Albatross to Alaska. The list of collections in the accession file identifies Original # 2016 (Catalogue # E130624) as collected at Yakutat Bay, Alaska. Yakutat was assumed by the Smithsonian cataloguer to also probably apply to E130625, original # 2017, however it is unclear from the accession list if that is indeed the case.