Cleveland Museum of Art

Spoon

Date

late 1800s–early 1900s

Medium

horn, copper

Culture

Native North America, Northwest Coast, Alaska, Tlingit

Department

Art of the Americas

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

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.

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