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Bowl

ca. 1840–60
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
This bowl cleverly evokes the posture of an alert, seated seabird, whose wings, feet, and tail feathers appear in shallow relief on the outer surface. Sheep-horn bowls often held the seal, whale, or eulachon (candlefish) oil into which feast guests dipped dried salmon and other delicacies. To create the bowl, the artist first steamed and boiled the horn, making it pliable enough to be bent into shape, and then carved it once it had cooled.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Bowl
  • Artist: Unrecorded Haida artist
  • Date: ca. 1840–60
  • Geography: Canada, Haida Gwaai, British Columbia
  • Culture: Haida
  • Medium: Dall mountain sheep horn
  • Dimensions: H. 4 3/4 × W. 8 3/4 × D. 6 1/2 in. (12.1 × 22.2 × 16.5 cm)
  • Classification: Bone/Ivory-Containers
  • Credit Line: Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing