CC0 · no rights reserved
Spoon
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Elaborate utensils, valuable possessions of Northwest Coast noble clans, were used during potlatch feasts. This spoon’s handle features the heads of a wolf and a raven along with a beaver’s tail. All may be crests, motifs that, like European heraldry, were exclusive to important families and referred to their histories and rights to control land and resources.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineSpoon, late 1800s–early 1900s. Native North America, Northwest Coast, Alaska, Tlingit. Horn, copper; overall: 10 x 9.7 cm (3 15/16 x 3 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Lyman H. Treadway, 1924.175
