Rare Northwest Coast Figural Carved Horn Feast Spoon

Tlingit or Haida, late 19th-early 20th century, hand-carved dark mountain goat horn handle inlaid with abalone shell accents featuring three totemic zoomorphic figures, attached by three copper brads to a steamed lighter mountain sheep horn ladle, together with a later patinated steel display stand.

13 in. spoon length from bowl tip to handle tip; height on stand 12 in.

According to Feeding the Ancestors: Tlingit Carved Horn Spoons, a book published by the Harvard Peabody Museum in 2007, tribes native to the Pacific Northwest use these carved spoons during potlatches and major ceremonial feasts, or ḵu.éex', to transfer ceremonial food from serving bowls and plates to smaller dishes and as eating implements by feast participants. These spoons were also used to honor ancestors and during traditional shamanic rituals.

The totemic figural carved areas of the handle carry spiritual and cultural symbolic meanings relating to family history and origins. The three figures on this spoon's handle, from handle tip to bowl, appear to represent the Raven (trickster, transformation), Frog (persistence, adaptability, and transformation), and Bear (courage, power).

Crack near copper brads (appears stable); otherwise good condition.