Cleveland Museum of Art

Feast Ladle

Date

late 1800s–early 1900s

Medium

horn, bone, copper, abalone shell inlay

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. 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. An imposing eagle presides over the bowl of this impressive ladle.

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