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Feast Ladle
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. An imposing eagle hovers, patron-like, over this ladle’s bowl and the bounty it once served; a bear’s head appears on the underside of the bowl. Both 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 lineFeast Ladle, late 1800s–early 1900s. Native North America, Northwest Coast, Alaska, Tlingit. Horn, bone, copper, abalone shell inlay; overall: 13 cm (5 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Harold T. Clark Educational Extension Fund, 1953.386
