Monumental Northwest Coast Polychromed Wood Feast Dish, probably Kwakiutl

in the form of a canoe, with two shaman figures with splayed limbs, carved in relief, grasping the tapering ends, their mask-like faces thrust sharply upwards, each with open mouth, pointed oval eye rims beneath arching brows, and traces of yellow pigment, the long sides painted in red and black pigments with stylized Sisiutl designs.

For a discussion and related examples of Kwakiutl feast dishes see Hawthorn, 1967, pp. 178-79: "The feast was an invariable accompaniment to social gatherings, large or small. On ceremonial occasions when guests were being entertained, the food was served in crest dishes by the household members and passed out in the correct order of rank for the particular feast...Feast dishes were part of the household crest belongings, and imporatnt ones were named...They varied in size. The first one used in a feast was a very large one whcih might be the size of a canoe...This contained generous portions of the food that was to be dispersed...Most of the dishes were made of wood, either shaped from a hollowed-out log or formed of kerfed boards with convex sides."