Painted Wooden Spoon
date: label: Accession Date
content: 23 Apr 1904
name: label: Collector
content: Dr. John R. Swanton
label: Donor Name
content: Bureau Of American Ethnology
notes: label: Notes
content: Comment from Graduate Student Research Paper, "A Report on Accession #42610 of the National Museum of Natural History", written by Athena Hsieh in April 2012, for the class "Anthropology in the Museum" taught by NMNH Curator, Dr. J. Daniel Rogers for the George Washington University. Approved for inclusion into notes by Dr. Igor Krupnik. Dr. Krupnik and NMNH has not verified the contents of the comment below, and suggests future researchers verify the remarks before citing Ms. Hsieh. The complete paper is attached to the accession record of this object in EMu. "This spoon is the second object in this collection described as Nootka in its documentation and is carved from a dark-colored wood. Though the individual who typed the catalog card wrote in a confident tone and stated his/her reasons for documenting the spoon as s/he did, no records on “B Isucker” were found in searches through the National Anthropological Archives or online search engines. However, subsequent internet searches revealed almost no images for “Nootka spoons,” but showed two examples of “Kwakiutl spoons,” both with curved handles and a bird's head carved into their ends, listed for auction(7). On the other hand, information written directly on the back of the spoon reads “Nootka, 231013, J.W. Swanton, L.P.X.” Since Swanton's middle initial is incorrect, it is difficult to completely trust the Nootka attribution assigned to this object. The straight beak on the bird suggests that the carving is of a raven, not an eagle, which in turn suggests that this spoon was made for and used by someone in the Raven lineage. The spoon was painted on both sides. A human figure, which may represent the Raven in human form, a motif commonly found in Northwest coast cultural objects, is painted on the back. The image painted in the bowl of the spoon remains unidentified. Citations: (7)- Christie's: http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=2077540 Seahawk Auctions: http://www.seahawkauctions.com/auctions/25/page85.html"
label: Notes
content: E-231013: Painted Wooden Spoon “Nootka, West Coast Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Carved from wood and painted in red and black. The end of the handle is carved in the form of a birds head. Spoon is undoubtedly of Southern Kwakiutl manufacture, on basis of painting, and because Nootka did not make wooden spoon or ladles but bought them from Kwaks. B Isucker.” (Catalog card)
label: Record Last Modified
content: 30 Jul 2020
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Nootka (Nuu-chah-nulth)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 042610
label: USNM Number
content: E231013-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Spoon